Resident Evil: The Neptune Project
by Rockstars721
Summary: Complete - Part 2/3 - An agent gave the T Virus to Umbrella Corp but soon realizes she is working for the wrong side. But its too late and New York is about to fall victim to Umbrellas plague...unless Ada can stop it. Please R/R! Its awesome I promise!!
1. Loss

Chapter I  
  
Loss  
  
The man in the murky black suit stood before Ada as she continued her story, realizing the fact that he didn't believe a word of it. How naive, she thought, that someone could be so closed minded. Something did happen on Muerte Island…something so unthinkably evil that the weak at heart would never want to think of it. The only group responsible for this was Umbrella, and even since Capitol City's total annihilation the company continues to thrive. Something wasn't exactly right, Ada could nearly smell it. Umbrella continued to be prosperous, continued to make billions of dollars and continued to do their heinous experiments. Not even the government was brave enough to step in, haunted by the thought of themselves too being put into small steel cages only to be implanted with embryos capable of inflicting something worse than death…something unthinkable…something only Umbrella could think of…  
  
Ada sat cross-legged in her short off-white miniskirt, her long legs covered in dark brown nylons. She let her leg down and tapped her heavy black boots against the padded carpet while fixing her jacket that was similarly colored to the skirt. Pausing and regrouping her thoughts, Ada looked around the room to find comfort but nothing was there to ease her. It could be a well orchestrated trap, but the chances of one of the highest paid attorneys in New York to be working for Umbrella couldn't be that high. And, she had faith in the goodness of people. She hadn't thought twice about people being corrupt, but the men and women who defend us in court? Well…as she thought about it now it didn't seem too shady.  
  
"And Ms. Wong, what did you say these…hmm…psychotic siblings' names were? Dalia and Darwin?" he seemed to mock her, probably unintentionally but mocking nonetheless.  
  
Ada slouched, her shoulders falling and her small smirk fading away, "No…Délia and Dimitri Spencer. Their ancestors founded Umbrella Pharmaceuticals before they were born. They were the ones responsible for the Muerte Island incident…" She stopped, looking at the attorneys face only to see pure disbelief, "…they're the ones responsible…"  
  
He slid his chair out from behind his large hard wood desk, stepping up and pulling on his fancy jacket, "Yes…Umbrella, those are the people responsible for the Raccoon City incident, the Sheena Island incident, the Rockfort Island incident and the Antarctic Base incident…I see. So, you're telling me that this super-power group is paying off government officials to basically secure their stay on top of the business empire they so proudly obtained for themselves?" he frowned, his grim features dimmed in the grey lighted room, "…I don't know how you expect me to believe any of this. You have no proof, no witnesses. Nothing…all the people you say were involved in this have disappeared except for you. Can you tell me where they are? Can you tell me what happened to them? Ms Wong…besides the fact that you have a brilliant imagination, there is nothing else we can prove in court. I'm sorry but there really is nothing I can do to help you."  
  
Ada expected that, the pure and coldhearted slap in the face. But, there was nothing she could do about it except sit back and take it, "Well, thank you for your time Mr. O Dowell…I'll be sure to send you a gift basket when I'm sitting in some kind of Umbrella prison, and an invitation to my funeral when I so coincidentally end up with a bullet in my head thanks to some bullshit assassin working for…huh…you guessed it! Umbrella. Thanks for your time, Mr. O Dowell. I really appreciate it, you were an excellent help."  
  
She got up and began to walk away, picking up her purse and heading towards the door. But she stopped, turned back around and frowned at the ill fated attorney, "…and one more thing, Mr. O Dowell. I wasn't the only survivor of the Muerte Island incident. There was another girl…but…she got away. But, there is something eating away inside of me telling me that she isn't just walking around free. Umbrella has her; I can almost assure you of it. If you don't help me now, then you're not only hurting me, you're hurting everyone who has ever been hurt by Umbrella. Think about it, sir. Who manufactured that aspirin on your desk? Umbrella. Who manufactured that camera, up in the corner up there? Umbrella. Who basically owns this city? Umbrella. If you don't help me now, sir…then everyone in the city of New York will die…I know of Umbrella's plans. New York is their next target…only I know that for sure. If you don't help me now…New York City and everyone in it will die."  
  
His face wrinkled, his expression torn between anger and disgust, "I told you…I can't help you. Get out now before I call security, Ms Wong. Do me a damn favor and get the hell out."  
  
"Mr. O Dowell, it would be my pleasure."  
  
*  
  
London, England – September 22nd 2002 – 2:45 AM  
  
The Royal Opera House in London England; One of the finest opera houses in the entire world, built over 130 years ago. Still, it stands, only now it is just a screen to shelter the heinous activities that go on just underneath the floorboards. Heatherly Taft walked slowly down one of the dim corridors, the only light let in from the small cracks in the old tattered walls. It smelled like weed, the stench filling her nostrils and exiting out through the grated mask she wore snugly over her young face.  
  
She breathed heavily as she trudged through the murky tunnels, heading towards dark and empty nothingness. The stench was unbearable, it smelled as though something had died down here…like something had just rolled over and croaked right there, on the ground. Through the night vision goggles she saw nothing, heard nothing but her own raspy breath, and felt nothing but pure sorrow.  
  
There, in front of her, was a dark wooden door, dampened by the heavy humidity and mist that clouded the area. It gave the entire hall a sort of horror movie feel, as if it had been pulled from one of the old classics and placed right here for her to fall into. She touched the wooden latch, pulling on it and stepping through into yet another dark hallway. Was this some type of maze? She thought to herself, Is this some type of sick labyrinth, never-ending and infinite? When will I find it…  
  
"Tiresome and old…" She said out loud to herself, mumbling it under her breath in a distraught tone. It was a brief reflection on her own self pity for her life…her own was the only voice she had heard since she handed the T Alexia Virus over to Umbrella, for them to use again for their own personal bidding…  
  
It was strange, she thought, that they would need one of their own operatives to steal from their own laboratory…to steal their own virus, from their own scientist. It made no sense up until the point of explanation, which hit her then and there. The scientist was going to use the virus to put a stop to Umbrella, he was going to hand it over to the government and say 'here, this is what they've been doing'…and all would be over for Umbrella. So they sent in the only people that knew the labs better than the scientists themselves…the operatives. After Capitol City went bad, she was to evacuate. She took the virus with her, spilling one of the two samples onboard during the train wreck. Muerte Island was devastatingly obliterated…everything died. But, she had to continue on living or her life would be pointless, as if it made any difference now. She, in fact, was responsible for the incident that would happen in New York…if she had kept the virus and given it to the government, the innocence that would be lost in NYC would be preserved…  
  
"Stop it, stop it, stop it…there is nothing you can do about it now. Focus on the task at hand." She continued forward, attempting to not reminisce about the past and what had happened and what she had done. How could she have done that? "Stop it!" She shrieked, dropping her weapon and pulling her hands over her head.  
  
Now, two and a half years since she left Muerte, her affiliation had changed, what she had thought as for the better. After realizing what she had done and the extreme severity of it, she quickly left the company and suspended her attempts at helping the sinister masterminds that had created the mess in the first place. She was now a private agent, sent by herself to retrieve what she had given to them…they kept it here, she had hoped. From the extensive research she had done, this and one other laboratory were the only safe places to keep such a prestigious weapon. The T Alexia Virus was so important for Umbrella, so important that no one could even breath around it…too precious…too deadly…and she had given it to them!  
  
She reached the foyer area. It was vast, open and seemingly neglected. The wood columns were rotting with obvious termite infestation, almost as if they would buckle at any moment. There were windows, overlooking the street…she took a glance outside and noticed that rain had began to pour heavily down into the streets of London. Busy roads and traffic lights shun through the heavy mist down below…how she wished she was just a normal woman. But she wasn't, she was far from normal… in fact she was far from anything that could even be considered normal…she was, or once was, part of an organization that promoted human testing, viral and chemical and biological warfare…and the experimentation on God's creatures…  
  
Her heavy combat boots pressed against the red carpet, leaving a small stain behind. The damp hallways had left her boots sopping, dripping with not only water but her own sweat. If she was caught, infiltrating one of Umbrella's London facilities…  
  
Withdrawing one of the laser cutters she had bought off the black market, Heatherly aimed it towards the back wall. Behind it was the elevator shaft, leading up into the switch room. The switch room was where all the power in the building was supplied from, from the stage to the lab…if she could make it there it would be a piece of pie to take it and leave. There would be a helicopter waiting her arrival when she made it. It was only a matter of radioing her contact…  
  
Within seconds, a small crease had been torched through the wall, and with one easy kick it gave way. Dust gave up and filled the atmosphere around the tiny hole, giving obvious knowledge of its elderliness… she squeezed through, pushing her latex body suit against the old wood. It scraped against her, but only grazed the cover. It was a thick suit, equipped with healing devices and antidotes. After being infected with the virus, her body was supposedly 'immune' to infection…when the antidote was administrated to her, she was cured permanently…in theory.  
  
Dropping through the hole, she plummeted a good thirty feet until she smacked the elevator roof below. It clanked against her feet as she smacked the metal top, her legs receiving the brute end of the fall. Looking up, she realized that the easiest way up would be the ladder on the side of the shaft. Her ascent began, and quickly she was moving up the side of the wall towards the switch room.  
  
The laser cutter burned yet another hole through the Umbrella facility, allowing access to the control board. She saw exactly what she needed…Heatherly quickly jumped through and pulled the switch for elevator activation, laboratory activation and stage activation…the stage would provide easy viewing, while the lab and elevator would give her access to the virus. Things were going just as planned…a little too easy…  
  
She managed to get access to the laboratory within minutes, finally making her way through metallic tunnels that didn't seem to smell like shit. It was an easy trek, looking at nothing but solid metal and bland grays…not the familiar scent of decaying flesh, or rotting bone…but cleanliness…  
  
The sliding door opened on her arrival, allowing her into the main lab. It was massive, a room that seemed to be filled with the latest technology. She equipped her silencer on the small magnum she carried, in case any trouble arose. But, things seemed to be going well enough…  
  
Her heavy mask weighed her head down as she walked, but still she kept an eye out for danger as she moved. There, in front of her…the storage room. She rushed to it, sliding the master key card through the reader awaiting its 'access granted' approval…ten seconds, max…why is it taking so long?  
  
She walked through the door when the lock was released, stepping through into some type of freezer. There, in the back corner, was a set of viles…two filled with red, two filled with green. The green was the antivirus, the red being the actual virus…she touched them, and a great flood of relaxation and relief rushed over her. She had done it…  
  
"Chopper Delta, this is Agent 01 come in…Chopper Delta this is Agent 01 do you copy?" She said into her radio and she rushed back through to the elevator shaft. She quickly boarded and ascended up onto the rooftop. It surprised her there had been no guards in the facility…  
  
"Agent 01, ready at checkpoint 03."  
  
Heatherly showed a quick grin as the pilot responded, she could hear the chopper hovering over head. She could hardly wait to get through the doors and get onto that 'copter…  
  
The elevator door swooshed open and rain flooded into the compartment. Heatherly quickly rushed out, clutching the virus samples in her hand…the only samples…  
  
She waved, and suddenly saw a look of grim fear on the pilots face. She saw his mouth open, he started to scream obscenities and began yelling for her to move…"Behind you! Behind you!"  
  
Heatherly turned and that was when she saw it. The monsters from Capitol…the infected humans…their gouged out eyes and decaying flesh. They were here, somehow they were here. But she had the only virus sample, the only thing that was still allowing these creatures to be made! The likelihood that Umbrella was using primitive T Virus research was unthinkable…they stick only to the latest! Somehow they infected the people with Alexia's Virus…  
  
Tattatatattatattattat!  
  
The helicopters bullets rushed through the air, and Heatherly hit the hard cement rooftop. Bullets showered the area, flooding the carriers with lead. They fell back, only to continue their progression. She jumped to her feet, screaming into her mask that couldn't be heard through. Pushing towards the side of the rooftop, Heatherly realized escape would be difficult. She was too far up to jump, and within the seconds she had been on the roof it was infested with the zombies…  
  
They're outfits were that of performers…these mindless carriers had been the Broadway stars that acted in the shows…the virus, it must've leaked into the rehearsal room or into the food or beverages…my God, these people had made something of themselves! Now they were just mindless, empty…  
  
"Fuck!" Heatherly jumped out of the way as a bulky male rushed up to her. She dodged him, aimed her gun at his head and fired. Blood erupted from his skull, splattering all over the cement. She ran, it was the only thing she could do. She dashed up onto the higher portion of the top. She waved for the pilot and he saw her. He fired more bullets into the monsters, hording them off from her. A ladder quickly dropped and she grabbed for it. Everything seemed to be okay from there…she quickly ascended and climbed aboard.  
  
"What the hell are those things!" He screamed, so oblivious to the things that take place in the world around him, "They're people…but they're not! What are they!"  
  
"Umbrellas secretes go beyond what they have in the public eye. Is this thing equipped with explosives?" she screamed, pulling off the heavy mask and dropping it to the ground, "Something with high power?"  
  
"Missiles, the latest the military has. Enough to take down the Empire State Building…twice." He grunted, realizing exactly what she wanted him to do… "…but they're humans…"  
  
"Don't think that way, they're not humans anymore. The Opera House needs to be destroyed, its an Umbrella lab…make sure it disintegrates at least a hundred feet underground. Do it fast, we have to get out of here…they'll be sending reinforcements…"  
  
"…fine…" He grabbed the joystick and pressed the red button, releasing dual missiles into the building. One penetrated the side, the other penetrated the base level. It burst into a blinding explosion of lights, and the helicopter rose up into the air and flew away. Heatherly clutched the virus in her hand, realizing the immense power now in her possession…  
  
There was only one thing left to do… "We need to get to New York City…I have an old friend I need to pay a visit." 


	2. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or any of the characters depicted within this novel. Everything and everyone named is property of Capcom Entertainment. However, the things that aren't copyrighted are my property and don't touch em!  
  
*  
  
Prologue  
  
September 10th, 2002 – Daybreak, 6:15 AM – NYC  
  
Ada rose out of bed, pulled her hair back and quickly jumped to her feet. It was typical for her to be waking up in cold sweats, her face drenched in perspiration from the horrific dream that would haunt her endlessly…the same dream. Umbrella hadn't been put to rest yet, they hadn't been stopped. Their disgusting research and awful habits continued, persisting into the future to crush yet another generation of children and adults and youth…it was unbelievably awful how cold hearted those men were, the men and women who work for that sinister company…  
  
Childishly, they played with their toys until they were board. Then, once they were through causing torment and angst in their toys, they would simply disregard them. Except disregard meant to destroy, cause lifelessness, to kill…everything Umbrella touched withered and died. Nothing except herself and Heatherly had survived Capitol City…nothing…no research, no documentation, no survivors…except she and Heatherly. Everything was gone.  
  
It had been an awful nightmare, life ending and prosperity ceasing to exist. The T Alexia Virus had been spread into the city, causing chaos and destruction upon all who lived there. Some three hundred thousand died during those few days the virus was airborne…if they hadn't been infected, they would be eaten alive by the monsters that prowled the city streets. Within a few hours, nearly everyone was gone. Those who managed to survive the infection would die in the fight against the undead…no one lived…except for one man…Craig Hilt…  
  
Craig had died for her and Heatherly, the agent who they had discovered on Muerte Island. Heatherly was sent in to retrieve the virus, but realized her wrongdoing and…somewhat coincidentally…came down with amnesia, crippling her ability to remember anything that happened while she was in the mission. Craig died to save Heatherly and Ada…he died like a hero, taking a bullet seconds before mumbling his last dying words… "…I love you Ada…"  
  
Dying like a victor, Craig would be remembered in Ada's mind as the only one person she had ever met who was true and whole. Heatherly and Leon had left her alone in New York when she was dropped off in the chopper, each of them screaming something to each other about London England…  
  
Now, as she sat on the edge of her bed in severe cold sweats, Ada realized that the nightmare she had just slept through wasn't a nightmare…this story, the story she had created in her mind was not fiction…it was all true. Umbrella hadn't been stopped, they hadn't been shut down…and they're next move had already been planned…New York City was next. 


	3. An Empire Catastrophe

Chapter II  
  
An Empire Catastrophe  
  
September 23rd - New York City – Early Afternoon – 2:15 PM  
  
"The Royal Opera House," Ada thought out loud to herself, "…destroyed in a terrorist bombing; the entire Covet Garden area in shock." She looked down at the paper in front of her, reading it to herself while she looked at the pictures. It couldn't have been an international terrorist; they don't have the type of weaponry to blast a one hundred square foot hole into solid rock. Everything in the area had been disintegrated…  
  
She was still staring down at the black and white ink when her coffee was set onto the table, "Here you go miss, and the bill is on the table." The pudgy woman looked blankly at her, confused by the fact she didn't even acknowledge her presence. What was she thinking about…the building was old anyways, abandoned and not even thought of as something important…but still, something about it made her wonder. The only people, besides the obvious government, that could produce such a devastating weapon…  
  
"…shit, they're up to their old tricks."  
  
The waitress stared coldly, "Well miss, I don't think the chefs here are that awful and you can march your little fanny right on out of here. There're children up in here, they don't need to hear you talk that way."  
  
Ada stood up, not even looking at the woman. It had been awhile since she had had any contact with the outside world. The discussion with the attorney was the first time since her drop off in New York that she had spoken to anyone face to face…what a welcome back, she thought, the first time I start talking to people again and the guys a total prick. What luck…?  
  
Quickly gathering up her things, she headed out into the street disregarding the bill that needed to be paid on the table in the restaurant. She hadn't had much luck inside a diner…her first time eating out in Capitol resulted in the deaths of over ten civilians. Umbrella sent in mercenaries to hunt her down and in the process innocent lives were lost…hell, they didn't care. Do they ever care? Made her sick…she headed down the road, her hands in her oversized sweatshirt pockets; this was what her life had turned out to, living in fear…isolation…and loneliness…  
  
*  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 4:45 PM  
  
Ja looked up wondrously at the Empire State Building, admiring its sheer complexity and utter beauty, "…its magnificent." He said, rolling down the window of his stretch limo, "…simply glorious. Tell me, how many people are in there on an average day?"  
  
His assistant looked at him with caring blue eyes, her slim figure shrouded in the darkness of the long car, "Fifteen thousand on a good day. Its one hundred and two floors extend one thousand four hundred and fifty four feet high, and the actual building opened on May 1st 1931. Over two million people come in and out of those doors on a yearly basis…"  
  
"Unbelievable." He said, pressing his hand against a small wrinkle in his jacket. He had to look nice, after all this was a committee meeting. Anything less than the best wouldn't be acceptable, he had to look utterly impressive. No mistakes. Umbrella would be looking for something to keep him from this job…everything had to be perfect.  
  
The chauffeur opened the door for Ja as he quickly hurried out, scrambling to his feet, "Come now Hillary, we mustn't be late. The appointment is at five o clock sharp…" He grabbed his briefcase from her, walking fast through the gliding doors. He was whisked away by the sheer magnificence of the three story lobby, drawn to the artsy info structure and décor, "…absolutely astonishing."  
  
"Fifteen minutes…" Hillary said, following closely behind in her small black mini skirt and white dress shirt. Her silky brown hair was pulled neatly behind her head in a bun, with enough class for someone of high standards to notice…she gave Ja a quick push and hurried him along.  
  
They reached the elevator quickly, being the only ones in the actual compartment when it began to move, "Isn't this place just incredible." Ja dropped the briefcase, looking at Hillary in the eyes. She seemed pale, distraught… "Hillary, what's the matter. I'm sorry I had to drag you along on this. It'd be the most important career move I'd ever make!" He laughed, "Please understand."  
  
"That's not what I'm worried about…"  
  
She pointed at the switches on the wall. They had begun moving but had slowed…to nearly a stop…EMERGENCY was flashing…  
  
*  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 5:00 PM  
  
"Im sorry Miss, but you can't get inside. None of you people can get inside right now, there is a situation indoors that we cannot allow you to be involved with. I have strict orders that say no one allowed inside." The burly security guard stood tough, along with hundreds of other security guards lining the perimeter of the building. They weren't allowing a single person through the doors, the contact with the outside being cut off about ten minutes ago…  
  
"Hey! My phone isn't working! I can't call through inside!" A woman screeched from the crowd outside, "My husband is in there!"  
  
Ada couldn't help but think that something was seriously wrong. Since last year, security had been at its tightest ever but shutting down the Empire State Building with no real reason made no logical sense. Something had to be seriously wrong…of all the windows lining the building, not a single one was open. Everything was cut off…even the doors had metallic coverings over them, preventing anyone from getting in…what was going on?  
  
Then it happened…something in side caught fire, maybe a gas tank. She could feel the rumbling underneath her weight, rising up and finally exploding into the lobby. Glass flew everywhere, cutting up people within reach. She ducked behind the man in front of her, realizing that a shard of glass had torn through his arm nearly severing it…  
  
Mass chaos erupted, everyone turning frantic. The first thing she could do though was notice that the metal shutters had been blown away…but another set was already beginning to shut it off. How the hell would they have metal shutters that close when the others give way…serious security, obviously. This couldn't be right…  
  
Dashing through the crowds towards the main lobby floor, Ada jumped through the inferno that was now the city street. Cars were overturned and bodies littered in the roads…she could smell the scent of burning flesh in the air, people obviously scalded by the flames. She rushed through, finally reaching the lowering doors. With one quick dive, she rolled through underneath the gate and was inside. The city was closed off behind her, and she was once again inside the residence of evil. 


	4. The Infection

Chapter III  
  
The Infection  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 5:05 PM  
  
Vela looked about, huddled beneath a lab table and shivering…the infection had taken its toll. Everyone in the laboratory had died, and it wasn't their fault. Innocence was stripped from the unknowing bodies of the living, their souls ripped from inside…the only people responsible for this were the head scientists, the people in charge of all of this. But even they couldn't be blamed; it was the board members, the members of the committee. Those fools on Muerte were so naïve, expecting an outbreak to be impossible. They were wrong, as they were here.  
  
The actual infection began three hours ago…  
  
  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 2:00 PM  
  
"The actual viral concentration is complete, Doctor. All we have to do now is make sure that it is stable enough to be tested. The only way we can do that, as you know, is to inject it into the blood stream of a mammal." A tall blonde woman spoke briefly, with a quiet tone. She had a long white coat on, covering a black tank and black pants. Her hair was pulled up in back, her thick glasses shrouding her pretty blue eyes. But behind those eyes stood the mind of a brilliant scientist…and the mind of a cold blooded killer.  
  
The male doctor in front of her looked happy, knowing that the months of research that they had spent working on this project were finally paying off. After countless hours of hard, grueling experimentation it was finally finished. The final product was in front of him, behind three feet of solid bullet proof glass. Serious precaution must be carried out when dealing with such a deadly weapon…the virus was airborne, contracted with a single breath. After about an hour of settling in the air, the virus disintegrates but still holds a presence. Releasing a type of Bio Organic Weaponry Gas (BOW) will reenergize the virus, causing it to become even more devastating. It was truly the work of a genius.  
  
"Alexia Ashford would be proud…" he said, announcing his obvious triumph, "…we have served our purpose to Umbrella, and now it is time to see the final payoff. Margaret, please inject the specimen with the virus." The doctor tapped a few keys on the computer keyboard in front of him, and out of the wall withdrew a cage containing a small child, male. He was naked, shivering and sweating. He was screaming to be let go, in some type of foreign language but the ruthless masterminds behind the corporation could not let him free. He was a test subject, for experimental purposes. His purpose would be served.  
  
The female scientist walked over to the back area where the virus was held, using the controls to withdraw it. She carefully placed it, with the help of mechanical arms, into the receiving pouch and watched it skitter down through the compartment and into the box below. Touching the small vile gave her immense gratitude, knowing that she was able to hold such extreme power in one hand. She emptied the contents into a syringe, carefully walking over to the boy. He was screaming, realizing what was to be done with him. The cage lid was let off and quickly he was grabbed, not let to run. She walked to him, holding the needle up to his neck. He spit at her.  
  
"You little shit…I don't feel half as bad doing this to you as I did before." With that, she jammed the needle into his neck and emptied the vile into his system. The boy dropped like a dead fly. Quickly he was restrained, put into a large holding cell for monitoring. Minutes passed…he was supposed to be mutating…  
  
"What's wrong?! I thought the effects of the virus would be prominent within a few short minutes!" The male doctor rushed to the side of the cell, but the second he was in reach the boy opened his red eyes and from his hand a tentacle shot, piercing the doctor directly through the heart.  
  
Vela watched in horror as Margaret and the rest of the doctors were showered with blood as Dr Kennedy was severed, limb for limb. He was torn into bits and pieces, tossed around the room like some child's toy. Margaret let out a quick scream but she was dead the second it left her mouth. The small child let out yet another devastating blow, decapitating her and forcing her to crumble to the floor. Blood erupted from her headless shoulders, spilling all over the metallic floor. Vela could do nothing but watch in horror, huddling down into a corner as the devastating massacre continued.  
  
One by one the scientists were butchered, hacked into pieces by the renegade boy. He was fully mutated now, his naked body pale but still somewhat stained with blood. Purple pouches of viral fluid built up along his immature body, dripping with sweat and blood. His eyes glowed a dark red, deep with hate and carnage. His empty childhood anger was released through vengeance, chaos and death. Within seconds everyone in the room was dead…the boy was still behind the cage, but he himself was drained. His weight buckling under puny legs, the child collapsed to the ground in a mangled heap. A thick cloud of gas was released from the boy, his body seeming to deflate right in front of Vela's eyes. Blood erupted from his spineless body, his bones protruding out of rotten skin. It was an awful site.  
  
There was a hissing sound from the corner of the room. The glass was cracked on the casing of the virus. Two viles still were contained inside the chamber. The lab shook.  
  
"Emergency detected. Emergency detected. All personal please report to the bottom platform."  
  
The room shook again, and this time the glass gave way forcing the virus to fall to the ground and crack open. It was released into the air. Vela took off like a bat out of hell, racing towards the back door to the virus. Her dark hair blew behind her, she dropped her glasses and raced out the room. She was screaming now, sweat dripping down her face. She ran to the stairs, pushing herself up each one. There was no telling how much time she had. She had to get out…there was no other choice.  
  
"Warning…virus contamination detected. All personnel will be quarantined. Virus contamination detected. All personnel will be quarantined." The automated voice rang in her ears as she raced up to the top step. By now, hundreds of the employees in the lab were frantic. They were five stories underneath the Empire State Building. Even the bedrock and piles, however, couldn't stop the virus form escaping up into the actual building. She slammed against the elevator door, pressing the call button. No signal. The elevators were cut off. She could hear screaming on the other side, people pleading to be let out. Then, a sudden rushing sound gave way and the screams became vague. The elevator had dropped. There was an explosion and the screaming stopped.  
  
"Oh my God…" Vela couldn't believe what was happening. She quickly turned and ran for the laboratory door next to her, but realized it was sealed off. She could see orange gas filling in the room, the scientists fleeing underneath desks with veils over their faces. Even one breath would mean contamination.  
  
No way to get out here, she needed to think fast. As she turned to walk away, she noticed one of the scientists in the room stand up, hunched over with his arms outstretched. That was when the steel shutters came smashing to the floor.  
  
*  
  
Vela cried and whimpered. So many people had died. She had managed to make her way out through a ventilation shaft and through the bedrock. There was one last laboratory before getting into the actual lobby. She hid in the bedrock for a while but the screams of the people down below as they were turned into carriers was unbearable. She had gotten into an abandoned lab, although it too had seen the effects of the virus. By now the virus had dissipated, but still there was the chance that if the controls were given to the wrong person the BOW gas would be released. If that happened, God have mercy on her soul.  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 5:10 PM  
  
Heatherly stepped foot outside her black jeep, just a few streets down from where the Empire State Building was. There was smoke pouring out of the building, like there was an explosion or something. 'Perfect,' she though, 'my luck has ceased to amaze me.' Clutching the virus in her hand, she quickly raced down the streets to find out exactly what had gone so devastatingly wrong. 


	5. Trapped

Chapter IV  
  
Trapped  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 5:15 PM  
  
Heatherly slapped her feet against the hard cement streets of New York City. She could see that the Empire State Building was damaged, smoked pouring out of the windows. People were lying dead in the street, the scent of burning flesh avid in the air. It was heinous; everything had died, and the only people that were left standing were either mangled or mutilated or a spectator…she couldn't believe her eyes. This once prestigious arena where high class officials would meet was now an all out war zone, complete with the sizzling corpses of the dead and the rotting scent of burning blood…  
  
"My God…" she gasped, the realization of the atmosphere now setting in. What the hell had happened?  
  
*  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 5:17  
  
Ja scratched at the elevator door, hoping to get free. It was useless; they were trapped inside the elevator shaft with no place to go. About twenty minutes ago there had been a huge explosion, something caught fire or something just burst…people began to scream and when all hell broke loose upstairs that was when Hillary just collapsed…  
  
"Don't be afraid, hun. There's no way well be in here forever. Things can only get better. I mean, c'mon we're stuck in a damn elevator. It happens all the time." Ja comforted her.  
  
KSCHSH!  
  
The elevator sank a bit, the cords breaking up straining from the weight of the car. Ja held Hillary close as they prepared for the worst, knowing that at any moment they could plummet from the tenth floor to the basement…  
  
"Someone will come for us…" Hillary shook, "Someone will realize we're in here…someone will come for us."  
  
She clutched Ja's large arms tight, biting her lip and realizing that death could be around the corner. What if something seriously wrong had happened and they would be stuck in here for a long time…no, because if that happened the cords would buckle under the weight of the elevator and they would plummet to their…  
  
KSCHSH!  
  
Another cord broke loose. Ja couldn't understand why no one was coming for them, it was unthinkable. Surely someone would realize that they were in here, "Something had to have happened," He guessed out loud, "We have to get out of this car."  
  
*  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 5:20  
  
"Mmmhmm…" Ada grunted as she rolled over onto one side. She ached all over, her body in serious pain. What the hell had happened? "Mmmhmm…"  
  
She pushed herself up, holding her weight under one strained arm. It was charred, like the rest of her body from all the smoke in the lobby. The place was a damn inferno, the bright light in the room shun from the fire that burned ever so brightly all around her. She coughed, smoke rushing into her lungs and blocking her breathing. Standing up she began to rush through the narrow passages allowed by the fire, hoping to find refuge somewhere in the abandoned burned out building.  
  
Fire was all around her, seemingly no means of escape. She tried to push through the fire, only burning herself worse as she finally reached the back wall. The fire seemed to be more towards the middle of the room; surrounding the Central Service Core…maybe something had happened in there, something that caught the building on fire…the wall she was pushed up against was lined with doors leading into the tenant's offices. Ada quickly rushed through the narrow wooden doors, throwing herself onto the ground in a heap of burning tissue and flesh. She screamed as she rolled about, extinguishing the flames from her body. Finally it was calm…  
  
"Ugh…" she moaned out loud, realizing the extent of her burns weren't too bad, only her clothes had been badly destroyed. She was left in tattered rags, her cheap business suit's original color of off white was now a dim grey…her pant legs had been ripped off, exposing her slim legs. Her high boots were still there though…as well as the guns strapped tightly under her waistband. There were two of them, dual Magnums .357's…she equipped them…  
  
Quickly rushing throughout massive amounts of papers and other useless information, Ada summed up her situation as less-than-perfect. She was trapped in the Empire State Building. Something had gone horrifically wrong, and the only way to get out now was to find an alternative exit. The doors in the lobby were sealed off by metal shudders, keeping anyone or anything from leaving the building. Every window seemed to be under the same damn lock and key system, everything sealed off with shudders. She touched against one of them, feeling the cold hard metal against her skin. Her fingers tried prying at the locked window, but it didn't work. It was sealed shut, probably like any other exit in this hell hole. What the hell had happened here? There was only one way to find out…there was one door across the room. Kicking her fears to the curb, Ada confidently approached the large wood door and entered the next room.  
  
*  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 5:30  
  
Hastily, Ja hoisted himself up onto the top of the elevator compartment in hopes of finding the reason of its suspension. He had heard the cracking and snapping of the thick metal wires that held the elevator in place, but his stomach dropped when the realization of the severity of his situation settled in…only one wire remained where many had once been. In mere seconds the elevator would drop from its ten story suspension, plummeting down into the bowels of the channel.  
  
"Fuck…" Ja stammered, his legs weak with terror.  
  
Hillary's easy voice was heard down below, as he turned to see her blonde hair pulled back behind her shoulders, "Ja what's going on? What do you see?" She was sweating; the fear and hopelessness in her eyes made him wish he was sure they would survive this.  
  
"Hillary grab my hand quick!" He reached down, one hand on the elevator cable the other on her thin wrist. She was screaming for him to tell her what was happening, when suddenly the elevator that they had once been standing in gave way and skittered down the shaft to its exploding defeat.  
  
*  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 5:20  
  
Heatherly stood in front of the Empire State Building, looking up at the once beautiful structure in wide eyed fear. Fire trucks and police cars skidded onto the scene, men in uniforms pouring out of the vehicles to begin an investigation. Bodies were lined up in the streets, obviously those of which had been near the building when it blew up. It was disgusting, mutilated body parts all over the place, the blood of the innocent smeared on the cement.  
  
"I have to get in there…" she grunted, realizing that it would be impossible nearly the minute she spoke it.  
  
CLINK!  
  
Her keys dropped, and when she kneeled down to pick them up she was looking face to face with a sewer drain…a manhole. It probably led directly to the Empire State Building…if she could get inside, then it might take her inside the building.  
  
Jetting from her crouched position Heatherly bolted through the panic and chaos in hopes of finding something to open the hole with. That's when she saw the abandoned mechanics cart, tipped over on one of the street corners. Breathing smoke in and out, she maneuvered through the chaos to find a metal bar suitable to open the hole. Darting back to the drain, she quickly pried it open and looked down the dark, dank tunnel.  
  
She gave it no second thought, "…I started it…" she lept down the drain, screaming, "…I'll finish it…" as she plummeted into the bowels of the New York City sewer.  
  
*  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Mid Day – 5:32  
  
"Oh my God! Oh my God!"  
  
Hillary screamed as she hung tightly onto Ja's business suit, praying for her life that she didn't fall towards the mangled wreckage below. He was holding on for dear life, with one hand…she clutched his other…she was beginning to sweat…  
  
"…shit! Hillary, damnit don't move! Calm down!" Ja screamed at her, in hopes of calming his friend down but it was no use. She continued to holler and scream in the desolate chamber that they hung in the center of…he had only one choice. They had made it up to nearly the eleventh floor, and where the elevator would have stopped was a small platform extending out about half a foot. If he could swing to it, Hillary could jump off and climb to safety…it could probably only hold one of them though.  
  
"Ja please get us out of here…" she moved her other hand up to grasp his arm, hoping to allow herself more time, "…please…"  
  
"I have an idea, but I need you to be brave Hillary. You'll have one chance, if you don't make it the first time you wont have a second chance." his voice was raspy, full of sweat and fear, "I'll swing us over to that ledge, and when I tell you to, let go of my arm and grab it…if you miss…" he looked down… "…well, you won't miss."  
  
"Oh fuck…Ja how the hell can you ask me to do that?!" she screamed, her blonde hair beginning to drape over her face, "…please say there is another choice."  
  
"Glad to know you agree…" He began to swing himself, moving them closer and closer to the ledge. When they were in reach, he screamed out his signal, "NOW!"  
  
And with that, Hillary let go, screaming out in fear. Flying through the massive elevator channel, she let out her hands and prayed to God that she grabbed the ledge. She had one chance to do it…this was her one chance…  
  
* 


	6. Vela's Escape

Chapter V  
  
Vela's Escape  
  
September 23rd 2002 – New York City – Early Night – 6:00 PM  
  
After hiding aimlessly for hours in the emptiness of the abandoned laboratory, Vela decided it was time to make her move. She had seen first hand the effects of the virus on a normal human being; the person infected turns into a mindless, blood thirsty animal capable only of eating human flesh…a fate worse than death itself. She couldn't…wouldn't…allow herself to become one of those things…it wasn't an option, she wouldn't die that way. But to refer to that as a death doesn't do the infection justice. The carrier still walks as if it were alive, still makes sounds that normal living people make…what could she call it then? If not death, then what? She decided there was no name for the ill fated state of mind that these scientists had fallen victim to. She couldn't think of a term worse than death…  
  
Vela thought back quickly on the life she had before she became a scientist for Umbrella. She had moved to New York City in search of answers to her past…she had been on her own since she was fifteen, and before that she was in an orphanage. It was a hard life, not knowing what your parents look, sound or act like. She couldn't look up to anyone, because every time she had a parental figure that she felt could guide her, they would be violently stripped away as she was moved from home to home. New York City may not have been the smartest place to search for answers, search for hope, or search for security…but it did offer her more opportunities.  
  
She had begun work as a service clerk at the front desk of the Empire State Building in the early months of the year. That was when Umbrella offered her a job opportunity that she felt would prove valuable. The company, as she knew, was a major producer of medicine, pharmaceutical products and machinery. Vela felt if she was working for something that had a purpose, she too would have a purpose. She was deathly wrong though, and she would find this out in a disastrously astonishing way.  
  
Her 'job interview' was conducted under gun point. The man in the black suit held a small pistol to her head as she was vigorously interrogated, question after question. She had stuck with the story that she didn't know who, or what her parents had been. She had no siblings, as she could recall, and no immediate family members. She was on her own, and although now she would become part of a 'family', she still felt lonely. She was given the job of second in command scientist, a position held under the direct supervision of the head scientist, Dr. Brian J. Kennedy and his assistant, Dr. Margaret K. Johnson. Johnson and Kennedy monitored every motion in their laboratory. Nothing went unnoticed by them. They were chief commanders of the second basement floor laboratory. There were three under ground floors, each equipped with a different lab and then one abandoned laboratory that was inhabited by no one. She was assigned to the second basement floor laboratory.  
  
The few months that Vela worked for Umbrella were awkward, strange and pretty much a bore. She did test work, checking the status of certain viral infections and their causes and effects. It was extraneous work, but the pay was excellent and her dormitory was nice. She never got to leave up into the actual city though…they kept her sealed off in the isolation of the lab…it made her mad.  
  
As the months drove on, knowledge of the T Alexia Virus began to pour in. Vela's research was switched from common cold viral experimentation to the devastating T Alexia project. That was when things got really bad, and she got to see what Umbrella was all about.  
  
On September 23rd, the lab was overrun by the test subject and everyone died. She was the only survivor. It was a horrible feeling, to know that she was the lone survivor of a maniacal experiment gone wrong. And as she sat alone, crouched underneath the cover of an overturned lab table, Vela began to sob a little bit. A lot of people had died today. She was the only one who still walked with a purpose other than to eat people. She still had to fill the emptiness that was her heart, and to do that she needed to keep moving. Vela had hidden like a coward for too long. It was time to be a hero, and make her way out of this place to find somewhere safe. Her journey began early that day, but she was choosing to continue it now.  
  
Scrambling to her shaking feet, Vela quickly rushed through the crowded lab and pushed over to the armory. The 'shock' weapon was in cold storage, in the back of the armory. She would stock up on as much ammunition and weapons as she could, keeping the 'shock' strapped around her shoulders in case any of the carriers had mutated further into the R3 stage. The 'shock' weapon was a gun equipped with a series of explosive bullets that released an electric shock into the target causing paralysis and death. It was most effective on the R3 monsters, but its effects on the regular carriers were equally devastating. The nice thing about the 'shock' gun was that it looked like a normal rifle but has the power of an electrical plant, more or less. It was a devastating weapon, and it was hers for the taking.  
  
Equipping double pistols and enough ammunition to last a few days, Vela quickly strapped on the 'shock' and bolted out of the small room. Jetting down through the narrow aisle-ways of the laboratory, she decided her plan of action. The east wall of the laboratory housed an elevator that could ascend up into the actual building above ground, but only as far up as the sewer system. If she could make it there, she could probably find a way from the sewer channel into the bottom level of the Empire State Building. It seemed easy, nevertheless, but still a challenging feat. The virus could have spread up as far as the third or fourth level of the Empire State Building if it had seeped through the sewer tunnels. If it had gotten into the central power core, there was no doubt that it was as high as the hundredth floor.  
  
She quickly pushed the call button for the elevator. Clutching the pistols tight, Vela watched the door slide open to reveal one of the most gruesome sights she had ever seen. There were two bodies, those of a bulky male scientist and a slender female scientist. The entire elevator shaft was drenched in dark red blood, and the two occupants were slouched over in the corner…each of them were seemingly hollowed out and devoured, their insides splashed against the walls like paste. Their glazed over stare was looking right up into the ceiling, the massive hole ripped right through the top of the elevator car. Their mouths were stretched apart, like something had been shoved down their throats…a light gurgling sound could be heard from their chests, like something moving inside their hollowed out rib cage. She couldn't help but notice that they both seemed to be moving…  
  
"Oh my God…" Vela screeched, stepping back. She could hear something crawling down from the elevator shaft above, making its way down into the laboratory. The two pistols she had in her hand would prove insufficient if something larger than an R3 were to show its heinous face…  
  
"Rrrrreeeeeeeeirrrrrrrrrssssss!"  
  
Something screamed from the elevator shaft, and suddenly yet another body smashed through the hole in the elevator. It plummeted onto the floor of the compartment and in an instant the actual elevator car was gone, buckling under the weight of the three occupants and something obviously underneath it…  
  
Vela fell back, pushing herself towards the back wall so she could have some distance from whatever was coming. She heard some kind of humming, like a buzz or something. That was when the realization of what happened to the elevator car hit her…  
  
"Shit…the carriers have turned the central power core into a massive nesting area!" Jumping to her feet, Vela quickly raced for the back of the lab where she had crawled in from the bedrock area. She could probably hide back down there until someone came to find her. The buzzing noise became louder, and that was when she looked back for a brief second and saw the millions of flying carrier bugs coming at her in packs. They would nest in her, fly into her mouth and eat her from the inside out. She kicked open the floor panel that she had crawled in through and jumped in, pulling it shut behind her. The shock weapon clanked against the ground as she plummeted about twenty feet until she hit the bedrock floor, instantly falling unconscious. She laid there and slept, her dual pistols laying in the rock beside her. She was tired, and now realized that her chances for escape were becoming more and more limited. But it wasn't time to worry about that now…it was just time to rest…  
  
*  
  
September 23rd – New York City – Night – 9:06  
  
Vela rolled over onto her side, realizing that she had fallen silently asleep down underneath the Empire State Building. The central power core was infested with some kind of mutated bee, and that made her means of escape cut off. Now the only way to get out of here would be to find an alternative way into the sewers.  
  
"Shit, shit, shit…" she muttered to herself, "There is no way in hell I'm going to make it out of here alive."  
  
Pulling her blonde hair back into a pony tail and fixing it with a small hair tie she had in her pocket, Vela stood up and picked her pistols up off the ground. The white lab coat she wore dropped to the ground; she wouldn't need it much anymore. The only thing it was good for was keeping her warm, and the last thing she wanted now was to tease the carriers with the smell of her sweat. So, in her tight fitting black pants and shirt, with the 'shock' weapon strapped across her chest and the two handguns in her small backpack, Vela continued on in hopes of finding an escape route.  
  
Trudging forward in the dark and gloomy sublevels, Vela couldn't help but think of how much distance she had lost by falling asleep down here. How had she slept down here anyways? It was disgusting, and hard to believe that she had actual gone dreamless. After seeing the bodies of three mutilated souls go plummeting into oblivion, she didn't know how she would even shut her eyes again…let alone sleep without nightmares.  
  
Lost in her own thoughts, Vela hadn't bothered to hear the sound of running water above her. Was it the turbines? No…they were right above the laboratory, not the bedrock…it was the sewer system; she was right above the sewer channels!  
  
"Thank the heavens…" Vela shouted out loud, breaking off into a small sprint. She skittered through the pile towers that supported the above building and finally came upon what seemed to be a ladder. There was a manhole directly above it, probably leading to a platform over looking the running water. She quickly ascended and pushed open the circular cover, and breathed her first scent of…  
  
"…rotting flesh and decaying bodies…"  
  
She knew the scent well now, and the sight even better. Vela pushed herself up onto the operating platform, and saw six or seven mutilated corpses of the once proud worker men and women. They had run the sewer system well, and now they were just soulless bodies eaten alive by the carriers she had helped to create…  
  
"Jesus…" she walked over to the flickering monitors, and saw nothing but empty hallways and channels. She glanced over to one of the bodies, "What the hell happened here?"  
  
"Uhngh…ughgh…mmghgmmm…"  
  
The sound of the walking dead echoed throughout the sewer tunnels as the glistening image of a human carrier strutted into view. She withdrew one of the handguns and put a bullet directly through the creatures rotting skull. It fell backwards for a second, but then continued its trek forward. Another bullet directly between its eyes did the trick. In an explosion of blood and gore, the creature died and crumbled to the floor.  
  
"One down…"  
  
Turning around to see the men and women who she had thought to have been dead rise up, extend their arms and show their decaying faces, Vela finished her taunt and blew them to bits…  
  
"…an army to go."  
  
** 


	7. Riddle Me This, Riddle Me That

Chapter VI  
  
Riddle Me This, Riddle Me That  
  
"No!" Hillary screamed as she flew through the air, clutching the ledge as her body smashed against the side of the elevator channel. She scrambled, sweat rushing off her body and dripping down into the dank tunnel below her. It seemed like an infinite drop, her body would plummet eleven floors before hitting cement bottom, "Shit! Shit! Shit!"  
  
Ja moved his other hand to hold onto the elevator cords he dangled ever so hastily from, "Hillary, whatever you do don't let go! Pull yourself up, don't let go!" He began to ascend the cord, pulling himself inch by inch up the elevator channel, "I'm gonna swing over to the ledge as soon as you can get the door open. It won't hold the two of us, I need you to hurry! I won't be able to hold on much longer!"  
  
"Ja…I don't know if I-"  
  
"Do it damnit!" he screamed, sweat leaking down onto his white business shirt. He was wearing the same expensive suit that he wore when he first got into this mess, the white dress shirt…the black pants and the nice leather shoes…his coat had gone with the elevator when it came roaring past them. He continued to climb the cord, giving himself enough room to swing back and forth.  
  
Hillary pulled her left arm up onto the ledge, and then quickly pulled her right arm up. Pushing herself to her furthest limits, she hoisted herself up onto the ledge and scooted over enough to give herself room to stand, "…damnit, too bad this wont go on my resume." She giggled, giving Ja something to laugh about. She began to pry against the elevator door on the wall she was pressed against, and within seconds it slid open revealing an office floor. It was totally deserted.  
  
"Alright, Ja it's okay to come now. The coast is clear." Hillary said, walking quickly into the office building. Green plants and nice white floors filled the colorful hallways, doors lining the many walls that lead into the actual offices of the worker men and women, "Maybe there is someone here that can help us…"  
  
She could hear Ja smash against the floor, and begin to scream at her…  
  
"Hillary, behind you!"  
  
*  
  
Heatherly waded through the thick and greasy sewer water that filled the passageway. She had her heavy Magnum in her hand, knowing that danger could be lurking around the corner…literally. It wouldn't be surprising if another spill had occurred. Umbrella seemed to be ill fated like that, every time they have a new toy they can't help but share it with everyone.  
  
The faded blue jeans and black tube top she wore snugly underneath a jean jacket did injustice to the situation. It was freezing in the sewer system; a place she had hoped would be warm. It smelled like shit, and she knew that it was probably exactly what she was walking in…her tight tennis shoes felt heavy as she moved through the greasy water. She could literally feel the scum floating on top of the water…  
  
Suddenly she noticed something in the backwall…she had seen the effects the water had on the walls, but this wasn't an ordinary water shadow…this looked like an actual human shadow. Unless someone else had the same idea she had, it was probable that the shadow she saw was that of a human carrier…  
  
"Hehehehehehehehe!"  
  
Heatherly broke out into a run, knowing that carriers don't laugh, "Damnit who the fuck is out there!" she clutched the Magnum tightly, coming across the corner only to see the body of a well built man racing up a ladder, "Hold it! Hold it or I'll shoot!"  
  
"Hahahahaha! I hope you enjoy swimming with the fishes Ms Taft!"  
  
"Who the…how do you know my name!"  
  
The man disappeared, the manhole closing off the sewer from where he had fled, "…swimming with the fishes…" the line kept repeating over and over in her head. She could hear a faint clicking noise, when suddenly she realized exactly what was happening.  
  
The side exits where the water would flow out were suddenly sealed off with metal shudders, ever exit for the water to leave was cut off. The water valves were turned on and the water passageways into the system were widened, allowing more water to come in.  
  
"The bastard is going to drown me!"  
  
SPLASH!  
  
Something hit the water down the tunnel, something big…she could hardly make out the fin before she was racing up the ladder. Its huge jaws burst out of the water and scrapped against the slimy brick lining of the tunnel, "Oh my god…"  
  
It was a massive shark, obviously an offspring of the T Alexia Project. It was huge, probably about twenty or twenty five feet long. It nearly filled the tunnel length-wise, but it was easy turning and could maneuver about rather quickly. It had absolutely gigantic teeth, capable of ripping her to shreds in an instant. She clung to the ladder for dear life, knowing that if the water continued to rise at the rate it was, she only had seconds to live.  
  
*  
  
Ada came through past another tenant's office, knowing that she was making little if any progress. She had seen the inside of the central power core; the entire shaft had been basically turned to a mechanical junk yard. Wires and electrical cords flung about every which way, sparks shooting off into the air. Elevators had fallen from their suspended lodging ports to the lobby floor, causing what was already an inferno to become basically a damn fireplace.  
  
She had found a few boxes of ammunition on her quest, nothing very important or worth notice. She had, though, found a set of keys that were each marked with a different letter. There were seven keys in all, with the letters Y, G, R, G, E, O, and Y engraved on the back side of each small white key. They were so small, that they seemed as though to be keys for a locket or diary of some sort…but who keeps seven different keys for a diary?  
  
"Maybe its some type of puzzle…" she sat down against one of the desks and began to place the keys in different orders, trying to make something out of the letters, "Grey…Geo…Greg…" Something about the last one made sense, "Greg…ory…Gregory."  
  
The keys made out the name of some Gregory person, "What would a man need a set of keys with his name on them for?"  
  
"I use them to keep my pets busy, Ms Wong."  
  
Ada looked up and saw a man standing before her, dressed in a black and white suit and tie, "I see you've discovered your first riddle. I congratulate you on your very simple task." He moved forward, extending out his hand as to welcome her to some type of fancy ball.  
  
"Who are you…" Ada was shocked, she thought the entire building was deserted, "How do you know my name?"  
  
He smiled at her, his features illuminated in the light shining from the lamp on the desk, "My name is Gregory Spencer, new head of Umbrella Incorporated. My siblings Délia and Dimitri were head owners before I…I am their successor. You survived your experience on Muerte Island and in Capitol City, not an easy task I assure you. You will face the same demons and mutations you faced there, along with plenty new ones during your stay here in the Empire State Building."  
  
"So there has been an infection. Tell me, what started all of this?" Ada found herself comforted by this man, although she knew what he was probably capable of. He may be tricking her; he may be just trying to get at her mind…  
  
"An experiment went wrong, you see. Dr Kennedy and Dr Johnson were careless with their research, and their own creation killed them and every other scientist in this facility."  
  
"This isn't just a tourist site anymore then is it…it's actually an Umbrella run laboratory." Ada put two and two together and realized exactly what she had gotten herself into, "…how can you do this?"  
  
"Do what, Ms Wong? I do nothing more than attempt to play God…"  
  
"Play God?"  
  
"Yes, I play God. When my sister and brother and I were separated as children I was forced to grow up in a world that was cruel and heartless. I murdered my parents and their siblings and their parents…I made sure everyone who was responsible for my misery would suffer." He chuckled, "They didn't even bleed."  
  
"You're one sick mother-"  
  
"But Ms Heatherly Taft will most certainly bleed." His gaze fixed onto Ada, a wide toothy grin extended from ear to ear, "Tell me…do you like riddles Ms Wong?"  
  
"What have you done with Heatherly?" she stepped closer, "I didn't even know she was still alive…tell me, where is she?" she pulled her tattered sleeves up, looking Gregory in the eyes. For a minute she thought she could see straight through to his pitiful soul…  
  
"What is large, powerful and stings like a shot…deadly, sleek and stealthy at that…it can swim, bite and jump if it wants…and if you don't help her now…" he pulled out a small video screen from his pocket. It showed Heatherly hanging from a ladder, a massive shark swimming about underneath her, "…if you don't help her now, then this might be her fate."  
  
"…someone…help…me…help…" she could hear the muffled sound of Heatherly screaming for help through the small gadget.  
  
"Where is she?!" Ada screamed, grabbing Gregory's coat, "You sick bastard where is she!?"  
  
"You have precisely three and a half minutes to descend two floors and find a way into the sewers. There are two manholes leading from the lobby to the sewer system, located in the turbine room. If I were you, I would begin moving right about now."  
  
Ada pushed past him and retraced her steps back into the lobby, leaving Gregory laughing hysterically behind. His insane laugh did remind her about Dimitri and what he did to Heatherly back on Muerte…she couldn't let that happen to her again. Not if she could stop it…  
  
"Three minutes…" she said to herself, "…I won't let you down Heatherly…I promise…"  
  
** 


	8. The Neptune Project

Chapter VII  
  
The Neptune Project  
  
Ada's feet pounded hard against the hard metal steps of the Empire State Building. She couldn't stop thinking about Gregory's words… "Three and a half minutes to get to the lobby floor, get into the turbine room and find the set of dual manholes. One of the seven keys will unlock one of the two manholes. Your job is to find the room, decide which hole and which key will save your friend…"  
  
"Sick bastard!" Ada screamed as she plummeted down onto the first floor. She pushed through the lobby door and took in a whiff of pure heat…the lobby was still ablaze, engulfing anything and everything that got in its path, "…one chance…" Barreling through the chaos, Ada raced through the once majestic hall and straight through massive flames. She saw the door across the other side of the room… "Maintenance Entrance, Security Personnel Only"…behind that door lay another door, leading downstairs into the waste disposal plant, equipped with the turbines and manholes leading into the sewers.  
  
She rushed to the door and turned the knob… "Shit!" she screeched, the doorknob didn't turn. Equipping one of the dual magnums she had, she quickly blew off the handle and threw herself into the door. Ducking into a roll, she skittered across the tile floor and jumped to her feet breaking off into another sprint. Ada quickly opened the next door and rushed through, racing down the grimy steps into the waste disposal plant. She saw the turbines, and the two manholes… Gregory stood between the two with a wide grin on his face.  
  
"I see you made it this far with about a minute and a half to spare." He smiled at her, his grin extending from ear to ear, "I must congratulate you again. You have the keys, correct?"  
  
Ada pulled them out, the keys marked with his name, "Which hole leads to Heatherly?!" she screamed, hoping to get answers out of the sick fool whose game she was forced to play, "Don't think I'll hesitate to shoot you." She raised the second magnum up, walking forward, "Tell me, which hole is it."  
  
"Its part of the game, Ms Wong. You agreed to play when you entered my playground, and now you're stuck. You have about a minute remaining. Seven keys and two holes make about fourteen tries. That's about one try for every…four seconds give or take a few. I suggest you get moving."  
  
Thrusting past him, Ada quickly began pushing key after key into each hole. She could hear water rushing underneath her feet, and Heatherly screaming for her to rescue her. She had tried all seven keys on the first hole, "Damnit! You spineless bastard let her go!"  
  
His voice was sick with insanity, the insanity only a Spencer could have, "Time is ticking, Ms Wong. You have about twenty seconds left…nineteen…eighteen…"  
  
She pushed the G key into the hole, turned…no. The R key, turned…no. The E key, turned…no. Time was going to waste, and she could hear the monster under her splashing about, Heatherly's desperate cries to be rescued. She had about seven seconds left. Pushing the last key into the hole, she turned and…  
  
*  
  
The manhole above her head pushed open and Heatherly frantically pulled herself through as the water level rose to her feet. The massive shark thrust its head out of the water and lunged, missing her by mere millimeters. Heatherly grabbed for something to hold onto, and strangely found the calm and subtle touch of a human hand.  
  
"Who…" She thought out loud, and looked up to see the familiar face of her short time friend Ada Wong…after all she had put her through, all the pain she had caused her, she still came through and save her life…  
  
*  
  
Hillary spun around, looking face to face with a creature she had only seen in the movies…it was a zombie, decaying and rotting right in front of her very own eyes. It extended its arms forward, grabbing onto her shoulders. She looked straight at it, the rotting flesh and molding tissue…it had no eyes, and its bleeding brain protruded out of its cracked skull.  
  
She pushed, but the creature was too strong. It moaned loudly, opened its gaping jaw and showed its razor sharp teeth to her, almost in a sense to brag. Moving forward, she could almost feel its hot, moist breath on her neck, "No! Ja help me!"  
  
BAM!  
  
"Uughk…"  
  
BAM! BAM! BAM!  
  
Blood spattered about, staining the walls and spilling onto Hillary's milk white skirt. She stumbled backwards, adjusted her glasses and fell to her knees. The creature was decapitated, headless and mindless…its insides were splattered against the walls, turning the creamy off white walls into a parade a dark, coagulated blood.  
  
Hillary stumbled to find the correct words for the situation, but the only things that could come out were, "What…was…that…"  
  
Ja looked at the thing, its grey suit stained with its own blood. It had darkening skin, like it had been the way it was for a long time. He had known that Umbrella did things that made peoples skin crawl…but not literally, "I have no idea, but I think I know who is responsible. Its time we take this situation seriously, and take the initiative to get the hell out."  
  
*  
  
"What you just saw was the product of my newest project, the Neptune Project." Gregory said to them, laughing as he spoke, "It's a mutated shark, infected with the T Alexia Virus, also known as the Mother Virus."  
  
"The Mother Virus…I thought that was the T Veronica Virus…" Ada said, speaking softly. Heatherly was collapsed in her lap, on the brink of tears, "…are there more of these things?" She wanted to know the answer to that question, but at the same time she didn't. If there were more of those shark things, whose to tell that there are other things here? Worse other things?  
  
"The T Veronica Virus was the mother virus until Alexia Ashford completed the research. A new, more powerful virus was bore in the mold of the T Veronica Virus, the T Alexia Virus. It is much more deadly, much stronger, and much more powerful."  
  
"Why do this though? Why drag it on…you've killed over a hundred thousand people in this building alone…" Heatherly moaned, "You have done something that not even Umbrella can erase. You've destroyed an international landmark…you think that will go unnoticed?"  
  
Gregory seemed to not even be phased, like he was expecting the reality check, "I am perfectly aware that the world will be astonished to find out the demise of the Empire State Building…"  
  
"The demise? What are you planning to do?" Ada shrieked, sweat dripping off her face. She and Ada were slouched on the ground of the waste disposal plant, looking up as Gregory continued his evil plot.  
  
He laughed, "Right now, the documentation and research from this laboratory is being sent via the internet to my facility in Maine. When this building is destroyed, it will be a minor set back to my thriving empire."  
  
Ada was astonished…he was using the internet to transport the information calculated in this lab to another lab, so that he can keep his record clean, "…but you've killed so many innocent people!"  
  
"Just a minor set back, again. Human lives are a small cost for total world domination. When this virus is perfected, I will be in total control. Not even the government will be able to stop me when I'm through with my research!" he laughed, "You think you stand a chance?!"  
  
Water began to rush up through the cracks in the floor. It hadn't ceased to flow from the sewer below them, and now it was rushing up and it was going to flood the area. Gregory didn't seem to notice, although his expensive shoes began to dampen.  
  
"I call my plan the Neptune Project, named after my newest perfection that you were just allowed the privilege to mingle with. Expect to see me again, ladies. Your next move should be to find out exactly what went wrong with the central power core. Make your next move from there, and I assure you you'll find the answers you're looking for."  
  
Ada shut her eyes and then turned to Heatherly…she was looking distraught, and tired. When Ada looked back at Gregory, he was gone. The Neptune Project was in progression, and in a few hours Gregory planned on destroying this building…with or without her in it.  
  
** 


	9. The Plot Thickens

Chapter VIII  
  
The Plot Thickens  
  
Water began to rush up to their feet, and Ada knew it wouldn't be long before the floor gave way and they would be swimming with the Neptune…they had to get out of the waste disposal room before it was too late. Heatherly stood up to her feet and clutched the Magnum she carried in her hand. Walking slowly over to the door opposite of which Ada had entered through, she came across a small keypad.  
  
"Look at this…M+DC+LX+V…its some type of code." She announced, realizing that it was printed in the Roman alphabet…the keypad directly underneath the inscription would open the door and allow them deeper into the waste plant, "If we add the numbers together, we'll come up with the code…"  
  
"But do you have any idea what M or DC or LX or V stand for…" Ada whispered, realizing how difficult this actually would be, "V equals 5…so the last digit is 5. L is 50 and X is 10, so LX would be 60. So the last two digits are 65."  
  
Heatherly was surprised at how much Roman alphabet knowledge Ada had, and how easy she was figuring out the puzzle. She felt like the weak link, because she had absolutely no knowledge about what M or DC meant…  
  
"We have to hurry Ada…the water is about to crush the floor, and the Neptune creature will be up here with us…we have like thirty seconds before this floor gives way…" The imprint of the shark's body against the reinforced floor could be seen, its fin already protruding through the metal.  
  
"M is a thousand…" Ada said, examining the code some more, "So we have the first digit is 1, and the last two are 65. What is the second digit…" she began to sweat as the realization of how little time she had left began to settle in… "D is equal to 500…and C is equal to 100…so DC must be 600!" Ada said.  
  
Heatherly caught onto the puzzle quickly, "Then the code is 1000+600+60+5, giving us 1665!" She quickly tapped the numbers onto the keypad and watched the door slide open. She bolted through with enough time to watch the floor explode as water pushed up through from the sewer. Ada threw herself through the door, rolling over onto her side to look at the creature in the turbine room. It thrashed up into the room, speeding towards them.  
  
The door began to lower, and the shark continued to press forward. Ada scooted back, finding herself wading in knee deep water. Heatherly was running, realizing that the shark would make it through before the door shut. Ada quickly turned around and began to run, equipping the dual magnums and loading them with full clips.  
  
SPLASH!  
  
The shark was through the door, speeding towards the two girls at increasing speed. It thrashed about the water, rippling through and causing chaos to fill the small hallway. The water level was up to Ada's waistline, crippling her ability to run faster.  
  
BAM! BAM! BAM!  
  
Three shots fired from Heatherly's magnum, and Ada turned to see blood drawn from the oversized shark. It roared in pain, diving under the water to move quicker and stealthier. Its sleek, grey body maneuvered under the water and raced for its target with a fierce anger that couldn't be stopped. Ada became frantic, rushing forward to reach her friend in time but she knew the further she moved the further the shark followed. Just as she though that her fate was sealed-  
  
BAM!  
  
Another shot fired, and the shark slapped its head against the wall, screaming out in pain. Blood gushed from a massive hole in its eye, and Ada realized exactly what had just happened. The shark's eye was gouged out, making it blind and irrational. It thrashed against the brick coating of the flooded passage, water splashing everywhere. Ada waded forward, reaching Heatherly with seconds to spare before the shark retaliated. The gate in front of them opened, and they quickly hurled themselves inside.  
  
Spinning around nearly instantly, Ada saw the shark come swimming forth almost making its way into the small chamber they were in. It smashed against the gate, nearly breaking through. They were cornered, trapped inside this now shoulder deep corridor with a water level that continued to rise. In a matter of minutes the water would be over their head.  
  
"Ada, I think its an elevator!" Heatherly screamed over the sound of rushing water, becoming frantic over the situation, "We can probably go up if we hurry!"  
  
She quickly began to search for a call button. Ada began to tread water as it rose over her head. There was about six or seven inches between the top of the elevator car and the water level, and Heatherly was moving slower than to Ada's comfort, "Hurry damnit! We're gonna drown!"  
  
SMASH!  
  
The shark continued to push forth, attempting to break into the elevator.  
  
DING!  
  
Heatherly found the call button in the knick of time, and the elevator began to rise. Water began to pour out of the small compartment, and as they continued to rise up the tunnel Ada heard the shark barrel through the gate and fall down the shaft into the sewer below. A sigh of relief was let out from Heatherly as the situation fell to a calm. She looked at Ada with wide eyes.  
  
"We made it…" she grunted, "…if it wasn't for you we'd still be in the turbine room."  
  
Correcting her, Ada laughed, "No, we'd more than likely be inside that shark if it wasn't for me. That was an extremely close call. I doubt that thing is dead though." Ada squatted to the floor, and began to calm down. Heatherly stood against one of the black elevator walls, her arms crossed and her eyes closed.  
  
"…Ada, there is something I have to tell you."  
  
Ada looked up, puzzled at what she had to say. It had been a long time since the last time they had spoken, and they had quite a bit to catch up on. Not that they were ever actually friends, but Ada just wanted to know what she had been up to.  
  
"I was in London when the Opera House exploded…I was actually the cause of it. It wasn't a terrorist bombing, like the news reported. That was just a front that Umbrella created to make sure that they were kept out of the suspect list." Heatherly said, pausing as if something even more shocking was to be unveiled, "…I took something while I was there, it was the reason that I went there."  
  
Ada was stunned, "…Heatherly, what did you take?"  
  
She pulled out two small viles out of her backpack, filled with red liquid, "…they were keeping the T Alexia Virus in cold storage there, and they were keeping it here as well. I have in my possession two of the four viles of the virus that Umbrella created, and the other two are here."  
  
"…so there really is a laboratory here then." Ada was shocked. No wonder they were attracting so much attention here, no wonder Gregory wanted Heatherly dead. She knew about his secrets, and she actually had a copy of the virus, "Gregory said that our next move should be to go to the Central Power Core, and investigate exactly why the real elevator system is shut down."  
  
"Do you think its worth investigating?" Heatherly asked, "It could be a trap."  
  
Ada knew that Gregory meant business, and although he was criminally and mentally insane, he was a genius. His laboratory had some of the most intricate traps and puzzles she had encountered, even more so than the Raccoon Police Department. If he said to investigate the Power Core, than that was exactly where she wanted to go.  
  
"…the Neptune Project is already in progress." Ada said, stepping out of the elevator car and into the now extinguished lobby, "…and if my predictions are right, we have about four and a half hours to stop it."  
  
*  
  
"Délia and Dimitri, I'm so proud of you both." Their mother said, smiling down at her bright eyed children. They were the smartest children any parent could ever hope for, and the opportunities that would be given to them were incredible and undeniable. They would live in the most luxurious of houses, be treated like royalty and have the most loving parents any child could ever hope for. And one day, they too would be heir to the company that is known worldwide as Umbrella Incorporated.  
  
"And you, Gregory. I am exceptionally pleased with your progression. I am so very very proud of you. You continue to amaze me." Their father said. He was sure that his children would be perfection, each of them were so beautiful. They had the eyes of their father, they lips of their mother and the brain that only a genius could possess.  
  
"…but you…" their mother looked at the girl in the corner, "…you have made little progress little girl. I am tired of your attitude, and tired of your slow abilities. If you don't shape up soon Vela, I don't know what we're going to do with you." She frowned, and the three other children let out a small chuckle. Their devious behaviors were keeping their small sibling from progression mentally and emotionally. If it wasn't for them…  
  
Vela whimpered, "I'm sorry mother…I really am. I'll try to do better…I promise."  
  
*  
  
Hillary pressed forward, her feet aching from the large amounts of stair climbing that they had done. They had made it up to the thirty fifth floor, and her feet were absolutely killing her. It was a desolate area, not the place she was used to seeing on a daily basis. The Empire State Building is typically bright and lively and full of hustling and bustling people…but not today. Not on the 23rd of September…it was cold and dark, the only light shining from the few overhanging lamps and fires that burned and smoldered in the dusty corners.  
  
"Just keep moving Hillary…" Ja comforted her, holding his pistol tightly in his hand. He had given her one too…what the hell was he carrying a pistol for? "When we make it further up, maybe we'll be able to find a working elevator or something."  
  
"Don't plan on it…" a voice said from above. Ja saw a shadow moving from the above steps, coming closer and closer to him, "The central power core was turned into a massive nesting area for the infected wasps and bees to create a hive…they nest inside the chests of hosts, feeding off their internal organs before eating them alive."  
  
A man came into view, his features illuminated from a small fire in the corner. He was tall, well built and dressed professionally. He had a tight black suit, unmarked from the chaos that filled the building. He grinned, his twisted smile extending from ear to ear. He let out a small chuckle before beginning again…  
  
"My name is Gregory Spencer, and I am the President of Umbrella Chemical and Pharmaceutical. Ms Wilkes, you look cold. Can I get you anything while you stay here…"  
  
Hillary backed up into Ja's comforting arms, "We're not staying here," Ja protested, "…as soon as we can we're getting the hell out of here."  
  
She interrupted… "How do you know my name…"  
  
Gregory laughed, throwing his hands up into the air, "I know everything about everyone who comes in and out of my laboratory. This is my playground; I know everything about my toys. You, actually, are one of six living members still roaming this building. I am one of them, and there are three other women wandering the halls. One by one you'll all die, either eaten by the monsters that fill my Hell or…"  
  
"Or what?" Ja shouted, his stomach churning with the hatred and disgust he had for this poor and insane soul, "Tell me!"  
  
"Or I'll have to kill you myself. If you play the game wisely, you'll live. Play foolishly, and you'll die!" Gregory shrieked, "Hahahahaha!" He quickly turned and bolted the other way, back up the steps. Ja heard a door open and shut, and grabbing Hillary by the arm he quickly rushed up the steps but he was too late. Gregory was gone.  
  
** 


	10. Left Behind

Chapter IX  
  
1 Left Behind  
  
Ada and Heatherly walked through the flooded lobby, the warm sewage water now up to their ankles. The fire had been extinguished, but smoke still rose from small patches in the corners and around the support columns. Heatherly couldn't believe that they had escaped the Neptune, and had actually put the damn thing to rest. Watching it plummet down the elevator shaft made a grin stretch across her face tired and distraught. She had killed one of the things that Gregory had worked so hard to create…that bastard deserved every bit of stress that she gave him, and even more after that.  
  
"So this is it…" Ada said, pointing to the Maintenance Only door… "Behind that door is the central power core, or the exoskeleton of it anyways. We can see the wires, pipes and elevators that run up through to the one hundredth and second floor. Its exactly where Gregory wants us to look."  
  
"And it's probably exactly where he is planning on setting us up. I bet you that it's another one of his sick riddles, or another puzzle. Just from what I've seen of him I can tell you that he is no ordinary guy." Heatherly snapped, frustrated that Ada was just waltzing into what she thought to be another trap, "I tell you, its probably going to be something we wont be able to get out of."  
  
The man made her sick to her stomach. He had left her to die in a flooding sewage compartment with a shark the size of a trailer…he knew all about her, from her past to her present. She wouldn't be surprised if he knew what bra size she wore, it was that insane. Ada didn't' seem to care for him, but she didn't seem to not care for him. She hadn't had any bad experiences with the man to actually lower her liking for him…he had been gentle to her, like he wanted her to survive this. But that was what he had been saying all along, that if they played by the rules then they would make it out of here without a hitch. Well Damnit they had already run into more than one hitch and they were playing solely by the rules he had laid down for them. When would this bullshit cease?  
  
Suddenly, as Ada and Heatherly continued forward to the power core door, a shrill, high voice was heard from behind them…followed by a hard shove, almost like a train hit them. Together they went tumbling forward and through the door, rolling down a flight of steep steps only to land on hard concrete. Above they could hear Gregory shouting at them, "Welcome to my nesting ground, ladies. I hope you find the brood enjoyable! Hahahahahahaha!"  
  
*  
  
Ada stumbled forward; the force of Gregory's push was unimaginable. She struggled to gain her balance as she tumbled forth, plowing through the door as Heatherly followed. Together, they smacked the cement pavement and rolled down a flight of steps. She could feel every hard impact as her shoulder, then her knee and then her elbow smashed into the cold hard steps. The pain was unimaginable, and how she wished it would just end…  
  
She landed before Heatherly, face down…her body ached; the fall down the steps felt like an eternity, and she hadn't even gotten a glimpse of her surroundings before barreling through yet another hard metal door. Quietly letting out a small moan, she moved just in time to see Heatherly hit the ground beside her. Dust particles and sand kicked up, shadowing her body in a filthy mist of debris. She moaned and looked around, finally catching gaze with Ada.  
  
"What just happened…" Heatherly shivered, massaging her limbs in pain, "…how did he…"  
  
Ada didn't know how to answer. Both of them had been caught so off guard that it was embarrassing. Gregory's power had been underestimated, and the idea that he was just an ordinary human being was scrapped…how had he gotten so strong? Was it possible that he had undergone the same dramatic experimentation that Albert Wesker had? …making him invulnerable and undeniably powerful? He couldn't have…it was exclusive to Wesker's company! Then what happened to him?  
  
Heatherly stood up, dusted herself off and checked her weapon. They had fallen down into a small cubby in the wall, a room filled with janitorial supplies and cleaning chemicals; probably a maintenance room. It was sheltered off from the main info structure of the power core by thick concrete walls and a large metal door. Ada watched as Heatherly counted her bullets carefully, "How many do you have left…" she shuttered to know what the answer was, praying it was enough to take out a few more monsters.  
  
She looked up, "Sixty five shots left. I have my combat knife…what about you?" The bullets were put back into her backpack and her .357 was strapped under her loosely fitted belt. She seemed so calm, and Ada wished she could have her confidence. But, after living through two of Umbrellas hideous nightmares, her ability to calm herself easily had been shattered. Even her cold hard shell that she had worked so hard to develop, the wall she had placed up to protect herself from the pain and agony inflicted with sociability had been crushed by Umbrella.  
  
Ada quickly counted her bullets, rushing so that she could get the hell out of there as fast as she could. The whole room had a eerie vibe, like it housed simple evil… "I have about eighty five left, and fifteen in each Colt." She said, "That makes about one hundred and fifteen bullets." She clutched her two magnums tightly, realizing that they would be the reasons she survived this. She placed them butt first in her jean pockets, and rolled up her sweatshirt sleeves. She had found a pair of fingerless gloves down in one of the desk drawers in one of the tenants offices…they fit her snugly. Placing the bullets in her pack, she began to move towards the door.  
  
Pressing her fingers on the door handle, Ada took time to analyze what she was about to get into and what Gregory had said… "…Hope you find the brood enjoyable…"  
  
Heatherly put her hand on her shoulder, "You ready?" she whispered, cocking her magnum in her ear. She was trained to be ready at all costs, but to step into the nesting area of the virus carriers? No one would ever be ready to do that…no one…clutching her magnums tight, Ada pressed forward.  
  
*  
  
"Vela, why are you even here? Go back to your room, no one likes you and no one ever will. You're so dumb, so useless. My brothers and I wish you would just die!" Delia shouted at her sister, laughing as tears began to roll down her poor cheeks, "The only reason mom and dad keep you around is because they don't have the guts to get rid of you…Dimitri and Gregory and I all hate you and wish you would just disappear!"  
  
Dimitri laughed coldly, "One day you'll realize how plain and useless you are, while me and my siblings will rule one of the most powerful companies in the world. When we do that, we'll make sure that you aren't around any more Vela…we'll be so glad to see you go, the pleasure we will get out of it will be infinite." Dimitri and Delia laughed, spitting at Vela as she stood boldly in front of them. They were all fourteen then, and everyone but Vela was quickly developing a brilliant mind…but she was growing up cold, tormented and sad…  
  
Gregory continued the torment, "You cant even do simple tasks at home, and you dream of one day starting your own family? Vela, by the time we all grow up, you'll be so far behind that no man will ever want you! It's too bad you have to be so dumb; we might've accepted you if you hadn't been so damn stupid! You're worthless, petty and incompetent. The world will look down upon you Vela…the world will look down upon you and laugh at what you have become."  
  
*  
  
Ja kicked open one of the tenants office doors, revealing a tidily kept office space filled with copy machines, faxes and telephones. Hillary was first to rush in, heading straight for the phone. She was dripping with perspiration, obviously terrorized by the carrier attack she had just undergone. If it hadn't been for Ja, she would be dead…or worse, she would be one of the things that she knew now prowled the hallways of the building. Just by looking at the creature that had attacked her, its lifeless body that lay mutilated in the middle of the hallway floor, she knew it had to be a fate worse than death.  
  
Quickly tapping the number buttons, Hillary realized that the phone was dead. Putting two and two together, the assumption was made that all phone lines had been disconnected. Even the windows in the room were sealed off, closed by some extremely thick metal shutters. They were stuck, no doubt about that…but the extent of the closure of the building was no coming into reality. It was really locked up, like to the point that absolutely no one was going to get out soon. Their best bet, like Ja had said, was probably to head up as far as they could and see if there was anything they could do at the observation tower.  
  
Ja stood against the door, holding it shut. Who knew what was crawling out in the hallways? After seeing that man try and eat Hillary, he would hold no bars against killing anything that got in his way. He had seen the bullet shatter the things skull, caving it in and sending splinters of its brain against the walls. He was breathing heavy, hoping that Hillary would tell him that the phone worked. In his mind he sub consciously knew the answer, and he knew the extent of their imprisonment. He just didn't want to believe it.  
  
*  
  
Ada stood in awe at the sight of the power core. Its tightly wound circuits and cords were flying aimlessly about, constricted partially by a massive brown web that wrapped itself around and around the core. Eggs were visibly noticed, sealed into the nest and engraved into the walls. Ada could see the inhabitants of the eggs, the creatures that were folded up inside. Their hideous knees were pressed up against their bony chest, and their bladed, curved arms wrapped around their legs. Their heads were pressed down into their chests, and their sharp exoskeleton was pressed against the edges of the eggs. She recognized them immediately…  
  
Heatherly was taken aback by the sight of the massive breeding ground. She stumbled back, catching her breath. She mumbled to Ada, "…what…what are those things…"  
  
She thought back on the creatures as they had prowled through the city streets of Raccoon…she hadn't met any of them in the police station, but their continuous harassment on the suburban areas of the city were enough. They hung from lamp poles like bats, dropping down and skittering across the concrete to slash at you with their thick metal bladed claws…decapitating and devouring their victims, the Chimeras would leave their prey lying about for the human carriers to feast. They were deadly predators, and even deadlier fighters.  
  
Ada knew that they had to get out of the room as fast as they could, before any of the Chimeras noticed her. She touched Heatherly's hand, signaling to her to head back up the steps towards the door. There was a wrap around balcony that over looked the power core, and a staircase that wound up through to the hundredth and second floor. If the Chimeras attacked, they could try to escape up through to the top of the building.  
  
Silently, Ada and Heatherly carefully walked up the steps, their heels clanking against the grated metal steps. Ada looked at the key panel next to the door. One word flickered across the screen, labeling the door as 'locked'. Heatherly pushed on it, realizing it was sealed shut. The only way to get out of this room was to use the key panel, and solve the puzzle that Gregory had so deviously created.  
  
*  
  
Vela slowly walked through the glorious central hall, silently fixated on her parents bedroom at the end of the hall. It was three in the morning, and everyone in the house was asleep. Her siblings had continued their torment, continued their teasing and continued their hatred. Everything boiled down to her parents, they had been the ones who had filled Delia's and Dimitri's and Gregory's minds with the hatred for her. They were the true cause of all her sorrow. Tonight…tonight she will end her pain and suffering. Drawing the large butcher knife out of her dress pocket, Vela slowly opened the door to her parent's room and stepped in.  
  
*  
  
"Access Denied"  
  
Ada continued to try codes on the key panel, praying to God that the door would slide open…but nothing was happening. She didn't know the code and it was foolish of her to even think that it was breakable. This game had no codes, it had no rules and it had no logic. There was just a key panel, a locked door and two very agitated young women.  
  
"Ada…Ada c'mon hurry. I think they're getting restless…" Heatherly pointed to one of the eggs; it shifted, the creature inside pressing its bladed claws against the egg wall. Suddenly, the unthinkable happened.  
  
An incredibly loud voice smashed through the room, vibrating the floors and shaking the eggs away from the nest, "Access denied. Central Power Core is isolated for twenty minutes. All personnel please report to the lodging bay on the tenth floor. Access denied. Central Power Core is isolated for twenty minutes. All personnel please report to the lodging bay on the tenth floor."  
  
The nest suddenly shook as the computer voice shut down. The eggs exploded, releasing their inhabitants into the room. They clung to the walls, releasing a heinous scream as they skittered about, riding up and down the shaft and communicating with each other. Heatherly and Ada pressed their backs against the wall. The creatures continued their vicious screams, and that was when the Queen Chimera showed her ugly face.  
  
*  
  
A massive beast pushed its way out from the center of the nest, its size two to three times larger than the other Chimeras. It screamed out, showing its vicious teeth to all who cared to notice. Heatherly opened fire, shooting four rounds off from her .357. Ada couldn't do anything but watch in terror, mentally pleading for her to cease-fire. It would agitate the creatures, and they would attack.  
  
"Heatherly stop it!" She screamed, pushing her arms down. The Chimeras on the walls began to jump from side to side, swinging their bladed hands around like pitchforks. Suddenly one dropped down onto the platform that the women stood upon, raised its scythe up in the air and swung.  
  
Ada grabbed Heatherly and pulled her to the ground, the creatures knife like hand coming down against the cold metal wall releasing a shower of sparks. Grabbing Heatherly's hand, Ada quickly barreled forth towards the steps to head up to the tenth floor lodging area. That would be the only accessible room for twenty minutes, and now that the Chimeras were angry there was no way that the twenty minutes would be calm.  
  
"Heeeirgh"  
  
Ada looked around and for the first time realized exactly how many there were in the one room alone. There must've been hundreds of thousands of Chimeras, either clinging to the nest or swinging from walls or standing on platforms. She knew it took about three magnum rounds to down one of the creatures. They had nowhere near enough rounds to take them all out, and even with the amount they had it was unsure if their path would be secured.  
  
One flight of steps was climbed, when suddenly a beast dropped itself down right in front of them as two or three more showed up on the scene. The Queen screamed to them, and their attention fixated on her. Ada took this opportunity and bolted forth, pushing forward and through one of them monsters. Heatherly quickly followed, rushing up the steps right behind her.  
  
CLANK!  
  
Another one dropped right in front of Ada. Before she could react, Heatherly had already blasted a hole through its slimy, virally infected brain. She took the gun to her lips and blew the smoke off, "You looked like you needed a little bit of -"  
  
Ada saw the Chimera come up behind Heatherly, swing its claw and penetrate her shoulder. She was lifted up off the ground by the creatures scythe blade, and she just hung there motionless. Ada couldn't bear to watch as Heatherly was thrown onto the floor. She watched in horror and blood gushed from her gouged out shoulder, spilling through the grated floor to drip down into a lower level. She looked up at her, wide eyed with a glazed over look. Ada thought she saw a tear roll down her cheek when she suddenly let out a piercing scream, "Ada! Run!"  
  
It was the only thing she could do. As much as Heatherly meant to her, hearing her say 'go on ahead without me' was one of the easiest things she could've taken in at the moment, and to actually do the act of leaving her came even more easy. Rushing up the steps to the third, fourth and fifth floor Ada didn't even look back once. Heatherly had died to save her. Craig had died to save her. When would it be her opportunity to die to save someone? And if the opportunity came up, would she even take it? The image of Heatherly crumpled to the floor, starring up at her with an emotionless face was embedded in her mind…and she didn't even feel remorseful.  
  
** 


	11. Reminiscing

Chapter X  
  
Reminiscing  
  
The cop quickly grabbed the small girl, pulling her away from the gruesome murder scene. A butler had called the police when the bodies of her parents were found gutted, mangled and torn apart to pieces. The three other children stood emotionless at the sight of their petite sister with a large, bloody knife in her hand. it was covered with the guts and insides of their loving parents. The poor girl looked sadly at her siblings, as if to apologize. She would be later found guilty of murder, and sent to a children's rehabilitation center and then to an orphanage.she was given multiple medications, leading to personality disorders and amnesia.the only written documents containing information of her past could have be found in the Capitol Estate, which was decimated when the island was destroyed last year.  
  
*  
  
Ada threw herself through the tenth story door, wheezing and gagging, gasping for a breath of sweet air. She had bolted up the metal steps, downing at least ten or fifteen of the Chimeras as she moved. Heatherly still lay down there.she hoped that somehow she had crawled away, survived somehow. She hadn't noticed the shadowy figure in front of her, let alone her whereabouts at all. All Gregory had said was to make her move at the Central Control Room, and when the alarm went off she fled here, the living quarters of the maintenance men and cleaners.the figure in front of her moved again, stepping softly into view. Ada had come to recognize the soft face that starred blankly at her. He showed up conveniently at every moment of drama, every moment of suspense only to offer some type of clue to help her along her journey. This time though, this time he hadn't done anything but cause a life to be lost. "You bastard!" Ada threw herself at him, slapping him clear across the face, "My friend is dead, and it's your God damn fault!" She pushed him, but he shoved back sending her clear across the floor, skidding to a stop. He held out a gun, leveled it with her shoulder and cocked the weapon.she could see it clearly, a Colt Python .357; it was like the one that Heatherly carried. He smiled at her, winking at her in almost a flirtatious way. His cool voice sounded in her ears, filling up her head and clouding her thoughts. His voice was almost relaxing now, calming her and soothing her. She saw him equip something to the magnum, the shove in some type of dart into the cartridge. He pressed the tip of the gun to her left shoulder, ".rest now, my Ada." 'He's going to kill me!' Ada reacted quickly, letting her weak leg rise into the air and collide with his stomach. She grabbed his head and pulled it into her knee, smashing his forehead. Jumping to her feat, Ada quickly grabbed her magnums and equipped them, checking the cartridges for ammunition. 'Four bullets.' she checked the other, 'two bullets.probably enough to kill him with if my assumptions are incorrect. If he was infected with the same thing as Wesker, then it's a whole 'nother ball park.' "Don't move you piece of shit." She checked the safety on her weapons. It was slid to the off position, ensuring that it would go off if she pulled the trigger, "If killed ten fucking monsters in the past two minutes, and lost a dear friend in the process thanks to your silly riddle fetish.I should put you out of your misery right now." THWACK! He moved, head-butting her to the ground. Her magnums clanked against he hard ground, scattering and disappearing into the muffled darkness in the room. Their sound was muted as they fell into the shadows, and she knew that she wasn't going to get them back. The room was small, like a passageway. Two doors, concrete walls and a vent on the ground. She had no where to run, no where to hide.this was her doom. "I cant believe you did that to me.after all I have done to help you." He looked at her, sprawled out on the ground. She was pulling herself back, propping herself against the wall. Ada watched him reach for his gun, his small dart equipped gun that lay on the ground, illuminated by the light shining in from the next room. He leveled it with her, ".now it is time to pay the piper, and you owe a major debt." She saw him pull the trigger and time seemed to stop. She could see the dart heading for her, piercing her shoulder and sticking into her. The dart emptied out, filling its contaminants into her blood stream. Her legs felt weak, and she crumpled to the ground in a helpless mess.  
  
*  
  
.her body felt numb.the only thing she could do now was dream.  
  
*  
  
.frozen.Ada walked in the door to watch a horrifying event take place.the bullet was fired, penetrating the air.she drew her weapon, aiming for the shooters head.she shot.the bullet pressed through his skull, collapsing it on contact.he dropped, Heatherly dropping beside him.Craig screamed.the bullet smacked his built chest.it ripped through his ribs, tearing the muscles and drawing blood.the thick, wet gurgling sound of his heart being torn.Ada screamed for him.he fell.his body dropped to the ground, a mangled heap of blood stained flesh.he moaned.she could hear something from across the room. "You'll never live."...Ada dropped to the ground, pushing herself forward to listen to Craig breath his last breath.to say his last words. "Ada.I love you.".he lay motionless, blood erupting from his lips to pour down his cheeks and land in puddles about his face.Ada she tears, she began to whimper and cry.Craig was dead.  
  
*  
  
"Craig.no please, please breathe.don't die on me.Craig." Ada lay on top of her fallen friend, hearing his last dying words repeatedly in her head as if to echo without fade. She had witnessed his gruesome death, a fatal hole ripped through his giving heart. He died nearly instantly, falling backwards and landing on his back. He looked up at her with pale white eyes, as if to scream for her to help her but there was nothing she could possibly do to help him. Craig Hilt was dead, and there was nothing she could do. Ada had watched him die, watched him fall before her with nothing but an empty promise to ring throughout her head.the promise she had made to him when she had first met him.that they would make it out together. But he was dead now, that promise unfulfilled and she was heartbroken. Her time in this world had seemed pointless up until the moment she had met him.now it began to feel the same way again, showing that her hopes of a better life with him was just a tease. "Ugh." The faint moan in the distance, the moan of a young girl put through hell and back. Heatherly was in the corner, slouched between Dimitri's dead body and the wall. She clutched her side, her eyes fixated on something past Ada. She turned to look around, and there was nothing there. The poor girl was starring into nothingness.she needed to act quickly to try to save Heatherly, if she was still savable. Ada stumbled to her aching feet and inched towards Heatherly, wary about if she would still be able to save her. What would happen if she was already beginning to mutate? How could she live with herself if she had to put a bullet through the poor girl? She couldn't, that was a given.she'd have to leave her here.wait, that would only cause her more pain, more suffering. "A.Ada." Heatherly coughed, blood already trickling from her bulging eyes, "Please." she coughed again, ".please help me." "Don't worry, I've got the antidote." She knelt down in front of her, drawing the syringe and anti virus from her side pouch. The needle tip pressed against Heatherly's swollen neck, entering one of the bulging veins. She pressed down on the medical tool, watching the green liquid empty out into her bloodstream. Heatherly moaned at the touch of the cold needle, but began to relax as it was withdrawn. The antidote had been applied, and the effects would begin immediately. "Alright, it's time to get moving hun. There's less than an hour until this places blows." Pulling Heatherly up off the ground, Ada helped her out of the room and back down the burned hallway that led to the staircase. Together, they made the descent back through to the lobby and into the elevator. It was only a matter of time before they would make it out onto the docking platform near the freezer, and when they made it there it was clear sailing out into freedom.  
  
*  
  
The elevator door opened, allowing the two women to file out. The wind blew their hair as they walked forward, each of them wary about what would happen to them. Ada knew that when they were able to get inside one of those boats this would all be over. Heatherly pointed, "There." Across the massive platform they were on was a speeder, a small boat that would be able to fit two. The platform was huge, hovering half a foot above sea level. It extended a good fifty or sixty feet in every direction. As they moved away from the elevator it quickly rose up, ascending up back into the main floors of the facility. It was a huge location, Ada noticed for the first time. Having three sub basements, three basements, a lobby, a level dedicated to the dormitories, and three upper levels. The rooftop was equipped with a helipad, suitable for take off and landing. Running along the side of a building were two ladders, extending from the rooftop and dropping down to the platform they were on. Ada touched the small water craft, "It's finally over." CCCSHHHH! The platform shook, knocking Ada to the ground and sending Heatherly to her knees. Ada looked up just in time to see the walls of the facility crumble as the creation Craig had spoken about threw itself out into the open air for one last confrontation. The alarm continued to scream out the tick-tock to explosion, ".fifteen minutes until detonation."  
  
*  
  
Water engulfed Ada as she swum for the surface, cool air filling her lungs. She looked around, grabbing for anything to hang on to. God only knew what creatures prowled the ocean floors surrounding an Umbrella facility.she quickly pulled herself up, rolling up onto the platform. She looked up, realizing that Heatherly hadn't given up the fight. The monster was still moving forward though, seeming to grow on the platform they stood on. Its massive tentacles whipped about in the air, its open mouth crying for something to eat. Its razor teeth protruded from bleeding gum, blood stained on their pale white surface. Ada quickly rose to her feet, groping for the magnum that was thrown from her hand when she was knocked into the water. Heatherly didn't even seem to notice that she had gotten out of the water, screaming out obscenities at the creature as she continued to fire away.and in the distance Ada could hear what seemed to be a helicopter.  
  
*  
  
"You two girls need a lift?!" Ada recognized the voice immediately.  
  
.Leon S. Kennedy.  
  
*  
  
Ada quickly rushed up the ladder, grabbing hold of the helicopters metal floor. She saw Leon's young face through the pilot mask. Heatherly rushed up to greet him, as if she knew him from somewhere. "Heatherly Taft, its good to finally meet you. The names Leon Scott Kennedy, I was a member of the RPD. Good to see you're alive." "I know who you are Leon.there are some things I have to tell you about."  
  
*  
  
She didn't know what time it was, and frankly it didn't matter. Ada woke up alone, locked into a small cell sealed off from the rest of the building. She was chained to a wall, her face dripping with sweat. Her wrists were enclosed by hard metal locks, chained to the brick wall. She was laying down when she woke up, her eyes flickering back to life. How long had she been asleep for? She felt as though she had just relived the entire Capitol City experience, from meet up with Craig, then his death and up until the ending confrontation with SPENCER. Although that entire dream was just that, it felt so real. What the hell had Gregory given her that would knock her out so quickly? She had remember being in the cold metal room with him, the struggle to keep her ground and ultimately being shot by some kind of tranquilizer. Gregory was fast.too fast to be human. Her tattered rags that she had called clothing had been stripped away, replaced by the same. "Holy shit." she remember the outfit she wore during Raccoon City.the red dress, the black stockings and the heavy black boots. The entire costume was there to a T, including the fanny pack around her waist. She touched it, unzipped it and found four full clips, giving her about sixty bullets. Her hands were still chained to the wall, but she could maneuver about to some extent. The only thing that was missing was her. "Looking for this?" Gregory appeared in front of her, holding the small 9mm handgun she had used in Raccoon. It was the same model, the same type of revolver. It took the same parabellum rounds, and it had the same reload action. How had he known about that incident.some kind of obsessed fan? No, people like Gregory don't have time for things of that nature. People like Gregory are too absorbed in their work to have any type of personal or sexual lives. Ada was stunned, plain and simple. Gregory stood in front of her, blocking the only visible exit to the room.the cold metal door fitted with a grated hole that could be seen out of. She tried to look past him, but he casually swayed his body over it to cover it, "I see that you have properly come to, Ms Wong. I'm glad that you have finally awakened. I was beginning to become worried," he paused, ".that you may fall victim to the same fate your ally did." He grinned and noticed Ada scowl at him. He realized he had stepped over the line, "I'm sorry about our struggle back in the dormitory hallway, but you had gotten so out of hand that I had to take physical action." "You didn't have to kill her," Ada said boldly, interrupting his calm and collected speech. His grin faded, giving his aging features relaxation. His cheeks puffed out a bit, almost in disgust, "I had finally gotten close to her." she could feel the tension rising into her throat.the same tension that had built up when Craig died, the same tension that had built up when she fell off the catwalk and watched Leon's face quickly fade away. "I'm sorry," he said softly, "I should have given you more information to the puzzle. When the alarm went off, I didn't expect the creations to react so hostilely." "Well they did." Ada said, anger expressed on her face, "And they killed my friend." Gregory snapped at her, "I said I was sorry, and besides that little bitch meant nothing to me anyways. She was worthless, a waste of space.just like-" His voice trailed off, and he quickly turned around. He left the room immediately, and Ada was left to wonder who he was about to mention before he realized he had stepped out of line.  
  
*  
  
"Floor fifty five." Hillary said, almost laughing, "Almost twenty floors without a hitch. I think we're on a roll!" As the words left her lips, a door burst open beside her and Ja quickly opened fire. The creature dropped to the floor in an utter mess of decaying flesh, its horrid smell erupting from its body as bullets crashed into its gut. The thing twitched, and then a river of blood spilled from its wounds, ".I spoke too soon." Ja kicked the door on the far side of the room, opposite from the one the zombie had come through. He filed in, realizing that it was just another tenant hallway, "Damnit! Hillary," He looked at her, his cool expression had faded away hours ago. They had climbed hundreds of stairs, and had gotten no where, "Hillary I want you to take cover in one of the tenant's offices, see if you can work one of the computers. The alarm said that power will be restored in twenty minutes, and that was about fifteen ago. See if you can dig up any information about Umbrella, or about any of the incidents that have happened here. I'll keep going up to the top, and if I find anything interesting I'll come back and get you." "You want me to stay here alone." Hillary said, her head dropping into her chest, ".but I'd feel safer if I was with you. I don't want any of those things to attack me.and without a gun." Ja noticed a fire extinguisher on the wall. It was sealed into a glass chamber, but it was locked. Raising his knee up to the chamber, he smashed it open and handed the light weight container to his female comrade. ".It'd be safer than going alone." He whispered his voice raspy with fear, "Be careful, baby. I don't want you getting hurt.I don't know how I could get through this without you." The moment was tense, and Hillary didn't' know what to do. He had never talked this way to her before, and for the first time she was noticing how much she was attracted to him. "It's the same way for me Ja.I couldn't imagine losing you." she moved in closer, and in an instant they locked into one of the most sensual and explosive kisses either of them had ever experienced.  
  
*  
  
"Welcome to Breckenridge Orphanage." the tall woman said, smiling at Vela, "I hope you enjoy it here, we do everything to make you feel at home." she looked at Vela, dressed in her school girl outfit that fit her ever so tightly. Her blonde hair was braided behind her head, pulled tightly into a small bun. She looked up at her, an emotionless expression stretched across her young but tired face. She had been put through hell by her siblings, and if this place was meant to make her feel like home, she dreaded stepping foot inside.  
  
** 


	12. Insanitys True Love

Chapter XI  
  
Insanity's True Love  
  
The locks on Ada's wrists suddenly released, followed by the shrill sound of Gregory's twisted laugh. She could hear the sound of footsteps against the ground, and then a door opening and closing. He had let her free, then fled himself. Something was seriously the matter.one minute ago he had burst out of the room after reminding himself about some mysterious other.and now he chuckled evilly and left her in a cold, concrete cell to wither and die. And he's supposed to like me. Ada laughed at her own thought, that some sick freak was supposedly developing a kinky fetish for her. He was trying to duplicate the events that took place in Raccoon.how had he known about the things that had gone on there? Obviously he knew that something happened, he had mentioned that to her before. But now dressing her up to be identical to the events in Raccoon, even giving her the same weapon? He had dropped the 9mm handgun on the dusty floor just before he fled. He had left the thick metal door open, as if to invite her to leave. When captors take their prisoners, what are the chances that they just let them walk free? Luck you, Ada, you got one hell of a genius to take you hostage. A real class act. She hustled forward, picking up the pistol off the ground. She found herself in a long concrete hall way, a cell block on one end and a door marked 'BIOTECH' on the other. Noticing a desk seated between the depression on the east wall, Ada moved forward and began to search. That was when she fell upon Gregory's own personal diary.  
  
May 22nd 2002  
  
My thoughts about the beautiful girl that escaped the Capitol and Raccoon City disasters have ceased to dissipate. My emotions have run wild with lust and passion for this woman, and she has yet to leave my dreams and thoughts day in and day out. She is even affecting my work procedures, I cannot seem to concentrate. I hope that someday my feelings will be put to rest.  
  
May 27th 2002  
  
The BIOTECH experiments have proved to be a success. Work on the Chimeras has proved successful, as well as with the canines and ivies. The ivies are especially a good find, their rapid pro and reproduction of sex cells and viral cells surpass those of any other carrier. The ivies also are able to withstand greater amounts of weaponry, their only weakness falling to the obvious nemesis of organic objects, fire.  
  
June 1st 2002  
  
One of the hounds escaped today and mauled a female scientist. She was in the dormitory level when the hound burst through her door. Her roommate found her mutilated body when she returned from the lab, her head severed and discovered hours later in the basement labs. The canine had obviously taken the Central Power Core stairs from the basement, up to the tenth dormitory level and then back into the basement labs. The dog was finally found, feasting upon another scientist. This researcher survived, however, only to become a full carrier within the hour. He was put into observation for research purposes.  
  
July 22nd, 2002  
  
Work on the T Alexia Virus is progressing, and I have finally found good use of this research myself. Dr Kennedy and Dr Johnson's work is progressing too slowly. I have taken the virus into my own hands, allowing them to work with a copy. The copy should serve as a good replacement, although it does have slightly different properties than the original. Alexia's cold 15 years of storage gave unimaginable power to the virus that was extracted from S. Burnsides body after the Antarctic explosion. I will perfect this virus, and inject myself with it to prove my everlasting love and devotion to my beauty I so humbly await for.  
  
August 15th 2002  
  
Johnson and Kennedy are becoming suspicious that their work has been fooled with. I believe they suspect I have taken some role in this. I must keep them at bay.  
  
September 23rd 2002  
  
Havoc has broken loose in my laboratories, and the worst situation possible has taken effect. The copy of the T Alexia Virus was released, and through the Central Power Core everything and everyone in this facility and the building above have been infected. I sealed off any and all exits of this facility, and everything is closed off by metal shudders. The public must be kept at bay, at all costs. The Central Power Core has been turned into a massive breeding ground for the Chimeras, hatching by themselves in the egg like structures they have created for themselves. I never expected them to do this.the ivy creatures have relocated from their holding tanks and into the lowest basement level. After the BOW gas was released, their poisonous touch was taken aback. The canine monsters were literally completely wiped out, with the exception of a few of the stronger ones. The Empire State Building is now crawling with zombies, and the only thing I can hope for is that my darling will escape out of here alive. There are a total of six living civilians in this facility as of now.Heatherly Taft; Hillary Wilkes; Ja (last name is unknown); myself; my true love, Ada Wong; and that bitch sister of mine Vela Spencer. I cannot believe she has resurfaced, let alone survived this long. She must be dealt with at all costs.I will put her out of her misery the second I am given the opportunity. If she so much as touches my beautiful Ada, I will make sure she will be punished. Vela will not ruin my plans.  
  
September 23rd 2002  
  
Vela has shown no signs of returning, as she has disappeared off of all camera view. Ada is now being held in my possession. The whereabouts of Heatherly Taft are unknown, but I presume her dead. Ja and Hillary have parted ways after a long romantic kiss.I can only pray Ada will perform such on me.and the Neptune Project is slowly taking effect. There is about one and a half hours before all documentation is sent to the Maine facility. Then, the failsafe will be activated and I will make it out of here with Ms Wong at my side.  
  
Ada shivered, placing the diary back onto the desk. Gregory was severely messed up.he had been wanting her ever since he had seen the documentation on her. The ink from the last notation was still fresh, signaling that it had been written probably just before she had awoken. That meant, since the Neptune Project had about four hours remaining when she was knocked out, that she had been asleep for about two and a half hours. The Neptune Project was going to be complete within and hour and a half, and then the fail safe would be activated. Gregory would most likely make sure she survived.but what about the others? This diary said that there were three other survivors running around this place. She quickly examined the rest of the desk, finding a lock pick and a two more fully loaded clips, bringing her up to about ninety all together, plus the fifteen already loaded into her weapon bringing the total to one hundred and five. She had probably enough weaponry to last a few zombies, but that was about it. After shuffling through a few more documents, Ada found a map with three red X's marked on it. The first red X indicated her location.the hundredth floor. The second red X indicated the location of the observation tower, the peak of the building. The third red X was placed directly in the center of the room beside her.Ada looked carefully at it, studying it. The BIOTECH door was electronically locked, but Gregory had scribbled the pass code on a sheet of paper near on the desk. 1974 . 1974! It was her birth year, in fact, ".my God." she muttered under her breath, summarizing the situation with her supposed stalker, ".what the hell is the matter with him." Her red dress stretched around her hips as she walked closer to the door, examining the large, red printed letters. Ada could see the Umbrella insignia printed on the key panel. She quickly tapped in the numbers and the door whooshed open, revealing a long corridor fitted with rooms labeled with numbers, starting with 001 and leading up to 008. Starting with 001, Ada began her search.  
  
*  
  
Hillary quickly turned on the computer in the tenant's office after locking the door shut and checking the room for uninvited guests that might have sprung out to surprise her. The only thing in the room that really made her skin crawl was the puddle of blood in the corner, formed from the dripping vent above. Claw prints extended from the puddle, walking towards the door and then disappearing. What had made those prints? And whose or what's blood is that? The Umbrella logo flickered across the screen, and in an instant she was greeted with a password screen. The login name was easy, that was already printed in on the screen.'Kennedy'.but the password was a different story. She quickly began to shuffle through documents that littered the cluttered desk, hoping to find something of use. Then, on the bottom left hand corner of a research note, she saw the combination 1145. Tapping the keypad with the corresponding digits, she quickly hit enter and the screen disappeared, replaced by the words 'access granted'.  
  
*  
  
Ja felt uneasy about leaving Hillary behind. He had made it up to about the seventieth floor when he realized how shitty of a decision it had been. He quickly turned around and began filing back towards the room, when suddenly he heard a faint clicking noise in the distance, from up above. Turning his head towards the ceiling, he saw the creature starring blankly at him with gouged out eye sockets. It was completely red besides the blood stained exoskeleton that caged in its bleeding muscle and tissue. Peering at him with bleeding sockets for eyes, the creature exposed its lengthy, wretched tongue for him to marvel at. Ja took a step back, falling onto his ass in pure awe of the thing. It had absolutely massive claws, extending probably a foot and a half. Each of its four claws was equipped with four, blade like fingers capable of tearing its victim to shreds. It screamed out in pleasure as Ja realized how dangerous it was. Suddenly, the thing dropped and flipped in the air, landing on its stomach to face him. It opened its mouth, showing its tongue and sharp teeth again. Then, it attacked.  
  
*  
  
Ada quickly pushed forth, examining her new surroundings. The door had been locked, but with a quick kick it gave way. This room was cold, dark and clammy. It was empty, besides a small glistening key centered in the middle of the room. A light fixture shun directly on it, allowing it to be the only thing of visible interest in the room. Ada walked forward, picked the key up and was shocked to see the door shut and lock behind her. Rushing towards the door, she found it was securely locked. She was trapped again, and this time it was her own damn fault. Picking up the key must've set off the locking system. Getting angrier by the second, she tossed the key back and watched in awe as the door slid open. "Take the key, door shuts. Leave the key, door opens." Ada said. She walked forward, picking up the key only to see the door open again. This time though, a second light illuminated another key. She dropped the one she had, the door opened and she softly went to pick the other up. The first key had the number 008 inscribed on it. This key had 000 printed at the top. The puzzle had been figured out. Take 000 key and replace key 008. Take 008 to room 008 and unlock it. Replace the key you find in that room with 008, to open the door with the next key. Once all eight rooms had been entered, the final key would be found to unlock the door at the end of the hall, marked 009. As complicated as it may sound, Ada caught on very quickly and began going through room after room before finally finding the final key. The main BIOTECH door had been opened, and she would slowly but surely unravel the secrets Umbrella had discretely hidden for so many years.  
  
** 


	13. Everlasting Horror

Chapter XII  
  
Everlasting Horror  
  
BAM! BAM! BAM! The creature flipped over as Ja pumped continuous rounds into its bleeding muscle. Three handgun rounds and the creature hadn't seemed to even flinch. What was this thing? The only other creature he had run into was the zombies.and now this thing! It looked like some kind of cross between a snake, with the way it walked, and a gorilla with its massive muscle.except a gorilla without any skin. BAM! BAM! BAM! "Heeeeirgh!" It screamed out in pain as more parabellum rounds were fired into its back, and the creature flipped into the air to grasp the piping that lined the ceiling. It skittered across the high top of the hallway, watching carefully as Ja pondered his next move.  
  
*  
  
Vela sat quietly in the observation tower of the Empire State Building. This entire ordeal had haunted her from the second she stepped foot inside.and now the memories of her childhood were beginning to surface. Her brothers and sister had ripped her to pieces emotionally, convincing her that she was worth nothing. Then, to retaliate she killed her parents.she was punished for that, sent to an orphanage and given drugs to help relax her. A side effect of the drugs was total personality and memory loss, causing her to forget about her past.but now she was remembering. Silently, Vela looked out the only windows in the entire facility that weren't sealed off by shutters. She could see into the busy streets of New York.it was very early morning, and it was still dark out. The lights and illumination caused by the buildings below could be seen, and Vela watched as small ant like cars traveled in and out of the crowded roads. She put her head back, pulling her blonde hair behind her ears. She was tired; after all she hadn't gotten much sleep since she was knocked out in the bedrock. The monsters that prowled the facility hadn't reached her here yet, and it seemed to be the only safe place she could hide. For all she knew, she would be hiding in here forever, lost and tired awaiting some type of rescue that she knew would never come. Umbrella was smart, and they wouldn't let any type of rescue squad enter here with the information that could be uncovered. She was trapped, and no one was coming. It was September 24th, and it had been a whole day since the infection. The airborne virus was gone, but still the zombies prowled the dim hallways. The Central Power Core was basically wiped out, turned into a breeding ground for the Chimeras. Most electricity was restored after the twenty minute knockout that was caused, but still the telephone wires were dead. Umbrella was making sure no one was making an attempt to access the outside. So, lonely and bothered, Vela sat in the observation tower curled up in a ball. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep and tried to get a grasp on the life she had before she was let into this nightmarish hell.  
  
*  
  
Ada's head pounded after the recent puzzle she had just pushed through, the complicated mess of keys and doors that led her into this massive gray and white lab room. It was a gigantic mess of overturned lab stations, broken glass and viles. Blue and green chemicals were spilled onto the floor, although she could tell they weren't poisonous from the labeled containers that lay upon the spilled puddles. She gagged at the sight of a gutted researcher, hunched over her station holding a pistol. Ada could tell just by looking she was dead; the cold, glazed over look in her eyes that seemed to be staring at an invisible object just beyond her. The thing that really caught Ada's gaze was the large computer screen in the east wall of the room. It was off, but the console in front of it held the keys to turning it on. She headed over to it, tapped a few keys and in an instant it flickered to life. The Umbrella logo flashed across the screen, and suddenly a timer was shown.33'22.33'21.33'20. "Oh shit." Ada realized what it was immediately, "It's a countdown." It was a clock that counted down to the end of the Neptune Project. Directly underneath the timer was a blue and white bar, with a percentage listed in the center of it.95%...that meant in a half hour the last 5% of the documentation here would be transferred, and the Empire State Building would be decimated. "If I had only worked faster, I might have been able to stop it sooner." Ada whispered to herself as she plopped down in the chair in front of her. She began to press buttons the keyboard, trying to access the main system of the computer but nothing worked. This screen was locked into place, and nothing would change that. Even the abort button wouldn't work, the words 'abort inaccessible' flickering across the screen whenever it was touched. A door opened behind her, the same one she had come in through and the voice of Gregory echoed throughout the large chamber, "No, you wouldn't have been able to stop it. The Neptune Project is pure perfection, and no one is going to take that away from me.not even you, Ms Wong." "I thought you had begun referring to me as darling, and sweetie." Ada mocked, remembering the diary entries that she had read a few minutes back, ".but Ms Wong does me justice; I never liked pet names." "I understand now exactly what you have been up to since the beginning," Gregory said, walking slowly forth, "You have wanted to put an end to my happiness ever since you first saw me. I tried to help you Ada, I really truthfully did. But now, you have angered me.and although my true love is you, I look down upon people of your nature." "My nature." Ada said, thinking of what he could possibly justify that statement with. Gregory snickered, "Yes, your cold hearted, ruthless and cut throat nature. You seduced Leon Scott Kennedy, you seduced Craig Hilt, and now you have attempted to seduce me into giving you information on what is contained in the Neptune Project! People like you belong down there." he pressed a button and a steel shutter rose up, revealing the busy New York streets, ".down there standing on the street corners, selling your pitiful bodies to gain the minimal respect you so strongly believe you deserve." "I don't really give a damn what is contained in your Neptune Project." Ada hissed, hoping to traumatize him a bit.if his object of lust didn't care what he had to offer, maybe he wouldn't really care about it. ".all I want now is to get out of here." "Then let me take you out quickly, so you mustn't experience the true horror that will be inflicted when the building it's destroyed." He withdrew her pair of .357s that he had taken from her, and cocked them back, ".I'm sorry it had to end like this, darling. Please forgive me." Suddenly a figure rose out from behind the shadows, "Hold it right there!"  
  
*  
  
Heatherly couldn't even see straight, but she held her magnum up in the air aimed right at that son of a bitch Gregory, "Drop the guns asshole." she muttered loud enough for him to hear it, ".make on wrong move and I'll blast the shit out of you." She trained her gaze for a brief instant on Ada, making sure she was still okay. Then, she focused back onto her target. The magnums clanked to the floor, and he turned to face her with his hands up, ".so what do we have here." he grinned, "Ms Heatherly Taft back from the dead." He giggled a bit, letting his pearly whites show before closing his toothy grin, ".happy to see you're still alive. I was beginning to have my doubts." "Shut up." she snapped, leveling the weapon again. She didn't know what was wrong with her, whether she had been infected with the virus or whether it was just a side effect of the shock she had gone through. She had had to dig her way out of a Chimera egg, where they had placed her for later feeding. Her shoulder was numb, where the scythe blade had punctured her. All the blood had dried up, leaving a black stain on her white shirt. Ada stepped towards her, hoping to get out of Gregory's path. Suddenly, he made his move. He thrashed forward, pushing past Heatherly and snapping the combat knife off her ankle. He grabbed Ada, pushed her against the wall and held the blade against her throat, "I'll do it." he growled, "I'll do it if you make me." The entire incident happened in less that two seconds, and Heatherly had totally missed it. Ada was now pressed up against a wall, a knife to her throat. She could see the blade pressed up against her skin, making a small indentation. Gregory wasn't playing games, but neither was she. "Drop the knife Gregory." Heatherly purred, "Drop it or I'll shoot." "No you drop your gun, bitch. I'll kill her if you don't." he looked away from her, his eyes focusing on Ada's. Then he whispered into her ears, ".I'll make you happier than you've ever been in your entire life." Then suddenly he kissed her, embracing against her unwilling lips. She gasped, pushed him off and wiped her lips. BAM! Heatherly shot, the bullet pushing through his gut and exiting the other side. It ricocheted off a wall and flew into the ceiling, ending with a small crash. Dust flew from the ceiling, mainly landing around a stunned Gregory. Blood seeped from his stomach wound, ending in pools on the ground. He looked at Heatherly and then back at Ada. "I thought." he gasped, "I thought we could be together." Ada suddenly lifted her leg and let out a powerful kick to his face. Gregory fell back, landing in a river of his own blood, "I could never be with a cold blooded bastard like you." And with that, Gregory closed his eyes and blood erupted from his mouth. He was gone.  
  
*  
  
Hillary heard gunshots go off, and quickly she was rushed out the door and flying up the steps. Then she saw it, the red creature hanging above on the ceiling. It was screaming at something, and then when she noticed exactly what it was she too let out a scream, "Ja!" He saw her too, excited and angry at the same time. He obviously didn't want her there, in case the creature attacked, "Hillary, head up the stairs! Get to the observation tower!" he screamed, and in an instant she rushed past him and dashed up the steps. BAM! BAM! BAM! She could hear gunshots behind her, but it didn't matter. She was already up to three floors, and her pace wasn't softening. If Ja thought something was worth seeing in the observation tower, it had to be important. She bolted up the steps, but then to her shock the thing that Ja was fighting was right behind her.  
  
*  
  
Vela heard a shot go off, somewhere downstairs. It was probably in the BIOTECH lab.she had been up there a few times, but mostly she had stayed in the underground labs. Umbrella had kept it hidden, off the map but she knew it existed.it was the hundredth floor, and nothing else was on that floor but BIOTECH labs. She wasn't sure if she should worry herself with it.but a gut feeling in her stomach told her something was wrong.  
  
*  
  
"Is he dead." Ada moved forward, not sure what to say. Gregory's eyes rolled back into his sockets, hidden away by his eyelids. Blood was pouring out of his mouth and mainly from the giant tear in his chest.he didn't look good, that was for damn sure. She knelt down beside him and pressed on his neck, checking for pulse. "Oh my God." she whispered, loud enough for Heatherly to hear. "What is it." she wondered, letting a hint of worry into her tone. Ada shook her head, "It can't be possible.he's still got a-" Suddenly Gregory's masculine hand rushed up, grabbed Ada by the throat and squeezed tightly. His eyes flickered open, and the smirk that she knew all too well by now stretched deceitfully across his face.  
  
** 


	14. Terror Lives

Chapter XIII  
  
Terror Lives  
  
"You thought you killed me." Gregory's grasp tightened around Ada's neck, and he lifted her up off the ground. He stumbled to regain his balance, but in an instant he was on his feet, ".you can't kill a product of the mother virus." "What?!" Ada screeched, trying to pry his fingers off of her neck, "You injected yourself with the virus, didn't' you?!" she already knew the answer. He had done the same thing that Wesker had.he injected himself with the virus, allowing him to remain alive if death were to catch up with him. She knew how difficult a battle it had been for Redfield to keep Wesker even at bay.now she and Heatherly were faced with the same type of mutant. "I have darling," He laughed, "And now I am almighty, and nothing in this world can stop me!" His gaze darted to Heatherly, and she was holding a gun right up to his chest, "What about cold hard lead?" BAM!  
  
*  
  
"Hillary run!" Ja screamed, firing bullets aimlessly at the creature that prowled right after her. It skittered across the piping that ran atop the ceiling, using its oversized claws to grip anything it could. In seconds it would be on top of her, and she would be. BAM! BAM! BAM! More shots went off, and the creature still didn't even seem to be phased. What the hell could withstand so many rounds? It was powerful, much more than any of the other carriers that lurked about this facility. It had to have about ten or eleven rounds in its greasy body already, and it still was taking more and more. Its pace hadn't diminished either; it continued to move at an increasing rate. "Heeeeirgh!" The thing dropped, landing upon her and forcing her to the ground. Hillary was pinned onto her chest by the massive razor sharp claws that the creature had equipped upon its hands, and its muscular body held her to the floor. Its lavish tongue extended out of its mouth, wrapped around her neck like a boa constrictor. "No! Aargh." she coughed, trying to get loose but it wouldn't budge. "Time to die you son of a bitch." Suddenly Ja grabbed the things head, held the gun up to its exposed cerebrum and fired.  
  
*  
  
BAM! Brains splattered against the back of Hillary's head, and she could feel the wetness of blood spraying around her. She didn't even want to breath, scarred of what would enter her clean system. But she knew the thing was dead, as it jumped back, landed on the ground beside her and kicked its limps up in the air. Blood erupted from various holes in its body, spreading in an ocean around it. She rolled over, looking at Ja as he stood in front of her. He had the pistol in his hand, and he was carefully reloading it, "You okay?" He asked her, hoping to God that the answer was 'yes'. "Im fine." she muttered, hoping that she convinced him so. She wasn't okay though, she was scarred shitless. The thing had almost killed her; she could still feel its tongue writhing around her neck.it was going to squeeze her to death, decapitate her and eat her. "C'mon." he said, holding out his hand in a gesture to pick her up off the cold floor, ".the observation tower is the best chance we have." He picked her up off the ground and together they began their fast ascent up to the tower. Hillary gave the creature one last gaze, then quickly joined Ja as they headed for freedom.  
  
*  
  
"Ugh." Ada moaned as a sharp pain struck her left thigh, ".shit." She had been shot.Gregory had lifted her up and let the bullet hit her instead. He tossed her to the floor as she grasped her bleeding leg in pain, crying and whimpering about the extreme shooting pain. He stepped forward, pressing upon Heatherly as she tried to level the .357 at him. She was scarred, she had just shot her friend.but it wasn't her fault, Gregory had used her as a human shield. Still, Ada could only imagine the guilt that Heatherly felt. THWACK! Gregory backhanded Heatherly, sending her sprawling. She fell to the floor, and Gregory kicked her against the wall. He grabbed her hair, picked her up and looked at her straight in the eyes, "You lose this time." he muttered as he picked up her fallen gun, ".this time I'll make sure you're dead." That was when the ground shook heavily, sending Gregory to the ground. Heatherly was still standing with her back to the wall, her body aching painfully from behind kicked around so bad. She took this opportunity and grabbed the magnum as a computerized voice began to crash through the building. "Fifteen minutes until detonation." the voice echoed throughout the hallways, ".all employees please report to the lobby platform. Fifteen minutes until detonation.all employees please report to the lobby platform." Heatherly shot a gaze to the Neptune Projects countdown, and it matched that of the detonation countdown. Only 2% longer until the Project was complete. She watched as Ada stumbled to gain access to the controls, in hopes of finding a way to abort the process. Gregory was still fallen to the ground, his face filled with anger. His features were tired, and he was definitely pissed off. He looked at Heatherly, waving one quivering finger at her, "You bitch.you'll die!" He jumped from the floor and rushed her, but she jumped out of the way and watched him crash through the wall, stumbling into the next room. Dust kicked up and shadowed him as he pressed through and reentered the room. She aimed at him, fired once, twice and finished with one shot to the head. She looked around for something she could use against him.when suddenly a door opened and a petite young woman stepped through holding a massive electrical weapon in her small hands.  
  
*  
  
"Vela." Gregory growled at her, "I thought I had gotten rid of you forever.obviously I'll have the pleasure of killing two pesky females in this endeavor." He lunged at her, but Vela quickly jumped out of the way and let out a devastating kick to his face, sending him against a wall. She held the weapon up to his stomach, pulled the trigger and watched in shock as the weapon delivered a massive electrical charge to his entire body.he dropped like a dead fly, crumbling to the floor in a heap of smoldering flesh.  
  
*  
  
"How did you." Heatherly asked, trying to make rational sense of the situation, ".he knew your name." Vela looked at her and frowned almost in disgust, "This man is my brother.my two other siblings were killed in the Capitol City incident." she closed her eyes and then looked at Heatherly again, "I'm sorry that he caused you trouble." "Wait a minute." Heatherly paused, "You're Dimitri and Delia's sister?" Heatherly was shocked; she had no idea that there had been another sibling, let alone two." "Warning.ten minutes until detonation." Ada stepped up from the desk, a desperate look on her face, "There is nothing we can do, the computer is locked in a countdown mode. We have about ten minutes to get our asses out of here." "All electronic locks now sealed." "Shit!" Heatherly said, rushing over to the door they had entered through, "Its locked! It wont budge!" She kicked it, hoping to get even a small movement but there was nothing. The door was shut, and it wasn't going to move at all. Every electronic lock had been sealed.except there was the door that this new girl had come in from. "Wait." she said, "We can take the steps leading from the observation tower! They lead straight back to the lobby floor!" Vela shouted over the repeating intercom voice, "We can head there. Lets go." Vela, Heatherly and Ada quickly rushed over to the door and prayed to God that Gregory stayed down long enough for them to escape.  
  
*  
  
"Warning." the voice said, "Ten minutes until detonation." Ja and Hillary smashed through the hundredth and first floor door, finally reaching the last flight of steps before the observation tower, "Damnit." Ja gasped, exhausted and tired, "I haven't had this much exercise since." "You haven't ever had this much exercise." Hillary laughed as they continued up the steps. Finally she saw the accessing lobby for the observation tower. It was huge, full with plants and exquisite tile and a receptionist desk. Together, they rushed forward and found one last flight of steps. They quickly ascended and found themselves face to face with the last door.  
  
*  
  
Just as they entered the tower, another door opened revealing two very young men and women. They were out of breath and probably just as sweaty and tired as they were, "Who are you?" Ada gasped trying to get the words out of her mouth, but then remembered that Gregory had said something about another pair of survivors. "My name is Ja." he said, the turned to the girl on his right, "This is Hillary.we've been here since early today, we got stuck in an elevator and.well we wound up here after fighting some of the damn most vicious things I've ever seen." Ada could tell the girl was in shock; her blood stained clothes and face were enough to make anyone vomit. She walked forward, followed by the other two ladies behind her. The five of them stood in the center of the tower, hoping that a plan would spring into their head when suddenly the door beside them opened and a very disgruntled Gregory stumbled in.  
  
** 


	15. Gregorys Final Stand

Chapter XIV  
  
Gregory's Final Stand  
  
THWACK! Vela was pushed through the surrounding glass windows and fell out onto the platform below in a mangled heap of glass and blood. She moaned and then stumbled to her feet, holding onto the railing for balance. Gregory hated this woman, seemingly with more of a passion than he had love for Ada. He stumbled forward but was stopped as Ja threw himself at him, pushing him to the ground. "Leave her alone!" He screamed, pulling at his arm. Gregory looked at the struggling man, then connected his fist with his face and sent him plummeting in the other direction. Ada didn't know what was going on, but she knew that this all had to end fast because the countdown was continuing, and there was only a few minutes left until the building was ash. Gregory turned his attention the blonde girl that was tending to Ja, then stumbled drunkenly over to her. Ada and Heatherly trained their weapons on him, letting off two rounds into him. Not even flinching, he grabbed the girl by the hair and looked deviously into her eyes. "Innocence must die." he dragged her back out through the shattered glass, holding her up above his head. He was ready to throw her over when suddenly the girl whom he hated so much pushed him further than she ever had before.  
  
*  
  
Vela looked at her brother with tear filled eyes, "Take me instead." she mumbled, drawing attention to herself. Ada and Heatherly and Ja stood injured inside the observation tower while Gregory stood with Hillary held over his head. Heatherly didn't know how this event would turn direction, but it needed to fast because there was less than five minutes to get out of the building.she had basically already decided it would be impossible to escape. "Fine." Gregory hissed, dropping the girl onto the cement floor, "You'll die in place of this bitch.I'll be able to kill the one I truly despise." Hillary rubbed her shoulder in pain as Gregory stepped over her, heading towards Vela. He looked into her eyes, and then reached out for her throat. "Think again asshole," she reached behind her and pulled out the electric weapon she had used against him before and pushed it right into his chest. TTTTZZZTTTT! A shock wave was sent through is body, and Heatherly shielded her eyes in pain. Hillary threw herself into Ja's arms, hoping for some sense of security. Ada stood in wide eyed fear as the sibling rivalry took an escalating turn for the worst.  
  
*  
  
Gregory fell backwards, then turned up to look at his sister with red, anger filled eyes, "You little bitch, you think you can stop me?" he growled, "I am almighty.even if I don't survive this there will be no evidence that Umbrella had anything to do with it.the company will live on and my legacy will be engraved into stone." Vela spit at her brother, pushing him to the ground, "You made my life a living hell from the day I was brought into this world. Now its time you pay the piper." "One minute until detonation." She jammed the 'shock' weapon into him for one last final blow, and suddenly he grasped the weapon himself, turned it around to face her, ".no, sister, this time its you who will suffer again." He pulled the trigger, emitting a pulse into her body as she stumbled backwards, in a mortally wounded way. Gregory walked over to her, pulling at his blood stained suit, "I'm going to get rid of you once and for all." He grabbed her by the throat and tossed her over the edge, sending her flying to the busy streets below.  
  
*  
  
"Thirty seconds until detonation." Heatherly couldn't believe her ears. This was what it was all boiling down to. She would die up here, alone with three other people who she had known for barely five minutes. She shuddered at the thought, and quickly summed up her options.which were none. The only choice she had was to. "We have to jump." she screamed to Ada and the other two, "We have to get off this building before it blows." She turned to them, scarred and eager to discover their fates. "But the fall will kill us." Ada said, trying to rationalize her idea. "Would you rather die by him?" Hillary pointed to Gregory as he watched his sister plummet to the ground. A faint smack was heard in the distance as she hit the ground, "I'd rather die honorably then to some psychotic freak like that." "Then it's decided." Heatherly said, "We'll go on three." "Ten seconds until detonation.nine.eight.seven." Heatherly began to count as Gregory turned to face them, "One." ".six." She couldn't believe this was how it was going to end. An Umbrella soldier never died like this, never fled a mission without completion. This was a definite failure and there was nothing she could do about it now. Her life was more important than her honor. "Two." she mumbled, getting ready for her jump. It was sure death, but it was better than being infected with the virus. "Now!"  
  
*  
  
Ada raced forward, followed by the others. Together, they pressed towards a confused Gregory as the countdown continued blasting in their ears. The final second ticked away and Ada heard a rumbling beneath her feet as she passed up the obsessed man beside her. She grabbed for the railing and hurled herself over, watching Heatherly jump alongside her. The ground disappeared beneath her feet as she heard Gregory scream for her to come back.  
  
*  
  
Hillary grabbed Ja's hand and jumped over the edge, falling feet first towards the ground. She could hear and feel the explosion behind her as floor by floor the Empire State Building disintegrated, sending massive chunks of debris and flames in all direction. The fire engulfed her as she plummeted towards earth, and that was when all consciousness dissipated.  
  
*  
  
The massive inferno that was the Empire State Building sucked Gregory away as Heatherly flew towards the busy New York City streets. She could see distantly as people watched in awe as the building was destroyed, running for their lives as the fire expanded into the roads. People were dying down there, but it couldn't be nearly as bad as it was for her.she couldn't even see straight as the fire blazed around her, dancing in waves that made her skin feel as if it would burn off.and it probably was. This was it, her last escape.her last escape from life. She was going to die.  
  
** 


	16. Aftermath

Chapter XV  
  
Aftermath  
  
October 10th, 2002  
  
Ada jerked about, raised her head forward and sucked in a deep breath of oxygen. She was alive.God damnit she was alive! How the hell had she survived? "Doctor! Doctor she's awake! She's awake!" a high voice shrieked and suddenly hoards of people rushed into the small white room, pushing her back down onto her back. She could hear beeping in the background, faded sounds of voices and thick footsteps. What was happening? Where was she? "Good to see you're awake." the doctor said, smiling down at her, "We'd thought we'd lost you like all the others." The others.Heatherly.Ja.Hillary.Vela. "You mean." Ada stuttered to speak, "Everyone is dead." the doctor frowned, "Not dead.just asleep. We found one body, a young girl. She was badly injured, about as bad as you." The doctor pulled a curtain open beside Ada's bed, revealing the girl that the doctor spoke about. She recognized her immediately. .Hillary.the damn girl survived the fall too.maybe. "There were no more bodies." Ada said, struggling to hold back tears, ".another girl maybe, about the same age. They look kind of similar.what about a guy? About six feet, tan sin, dark hair?" "No.no bodies were found." The doctor said, "Everything was incinerated in the blast, except for you and that girl. They found you amidst all the rubble, underneath a bunch of debris. They said you jumped from the observation tower.I don't know how you survived that." he trailed off as suddenly the same nurse that had noticed Ada was awake came bursting into the room. "Turn on Channel 4!"  
  
*  
  
"The body of twenty three year old Heather Lee Taft was discovered today in a nearby alley way that was shielded off from the blast of the Empire State Building. Taft, a member of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Squad, was discovered early this evening. This discovery suggests that Umbrella may have been involved in the explosion after all." Ada couldn't bear the sound or sight of the dead girl on the screen. Heatherly was dead, and she wasn't going to be coming back. She didn't survive the fall.she didn't make it.but she was so strong. How could she let that happen? "Ms.we're gonna keep you for a month or two to monitor you for documentation. I hope its not too inconvenient." the small nurse said, tending to her wounds, ".its really astonishing that you survived. The two of you were the only ones who made it out of there alive. Everyone else they found looked like they were dead before the explosion hit." Little did she know. ".hegh.that's crazy." Ada stumbled for the right words, trying to keep the woman shadowed in the dark shadow Umbrella had cast over the public. No need to frighten her with the truth. "It's no problem to keep me." Ada couldn't stand the thought of how many people had died.over a million, she guessed.all the tenants, all the researchers. And Gregory, she thought to herself, that bastard is dead and gone.but they never found his body.if he was infected with the same thing as Wesker, maybe there was a chance he was still alive. "No." she muttered, praying that he was dead and gone. She didn't need him walking around, alive and ready to commit another crime against humanity. The Neptune Project was finished.all the data was transferred to Maine.Umbrella got what they wanted, and everyone involved was kept quiet.but they didn't have enough power to keep her mouth shut. She would talk, and by the time she was finished with Umbrella, they would be just a matter of the past.Ada Wong would stop them at all costs.all costs. 


	17. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
Ada lay her head back on the train seat, holding her small leather brown pack in her lap. It was about three months since the Empire State Building was destroyed.three months since she lost a dear friend and a sinister company succeeded in what was though to be one of the most brilliant plans ever devised. It made her stomach churn; she could have easily saved over a million people if she had gotten to New York sooner, if she had just been able to investigate with a team.instead all the research and documentation was still intact, now being revised in a facility in Portland, Maine. Although the Empire State Building was gone, things that were unexplainable continued to be pulled out of the rubble.bodies that seemed as though they had been dead for weeks, oversized sharks and the burned bodies of mutated plants.the government was quick to investigate, putting Umbrella at extreme risk. If nothing at all, she had caused serious stress and an extreme financial blow to the company. The train took an abrupt halt as Ada stepped out, looking at Hillary with pale blue eyes. She slouched, pushing against her shoulders to wake her up. The poor girl was only about 23, and she had seen some of the most gruesome things imaginable. Ada felt sorry for her, and then felt even worse for herself. She had bee involved with the Agency ever since she was in her late teens, and had been working independently since her early twenties. Her childhood and early adulthood had been stripped from her, and if it was the last thing she could do she would try to prevent that for another innocent soul. The last words that the overly obsessed Gregory had spoken of meaning were that 'innocence must die'.those evil and cruel words were ones that she could not easily forget.innocence must die.how sick and devious, and how utterly mistaken a statement it was. Innocence should be preserved, at all costs. It made her sick to think that this ordeal was yet to be finished.and even more guiltless lives would probably be lost. Ada pulled her brown overcoat over her body, putting the backpack over her shoulders. She wore a thick hat over her silky black hair to cover her identity, wary about any unnoticed Umbrella soldiers who could be prowling in the shadows, waiting for her to make a wrong move.she shuddered at the thought of being hauled away to an Umbrella prison, the cold dank cells that they held their prisoners in.she vowed never to be so careless. "You ready?" the calm voice of a young girl said behind her as the train completely stopped. Ada came back into her sanity and looked at the smiling face in front of her. Somehow they had survived the plunge from the top of the Empire State Building.and now they were together to bring an end to Umbrella.something that is much easier said than done.  
  
***  
  
Resident Evil 2 The Neptune Project 


	18. Thanks

**Thanks A Lot**

Thanks for reading and reviewing my stuff so far. I don't have as many reviews for Neptune Project and Final Stand as I'd like, but that's alright. Sorry Final Stand never finished, my computer crashed and I lost all my chapters that I hadn't uploaded (thank god I printed em) but I just never had the time to rewrite them. 

Thanks again for reviewing, but keep goin I love feed back J. 

And review Resident Evil Outbreak you can get a link in my profile. 

Ryan


	19. READ ON!

HEYYYYYYYY DO YOU WANNA READ THE REST OF THIS STORY TO FIND OUT THE REAL END? 

**WELL THEN, YOURE IN LUCK**

**THERE ARE ACTUALLY 3 PARTS TO THIS SERIES!!!**

**YES THAT'S RIGHT, YOU HEARD SERIES!!!!**

**IT WOULD BE AAAAAAAAAAWESOME IF YOU REVIEWED THE OTHER TWO!!!!**

**HERES A FEW LINKS FOR YOU!!!!**

**Fanfiction . net / read.php?storyid = 694325   ---------- PART 1!!!**

**fanfiction. Net / read.php?storyid = 817047   ------------ PART 2!!!!!**

**Fanfiction . net / read.php?storyid = 881590 ---------- PART 3!!!!!!!**

**SORRY ABOUT THE WEIRD LINKS, FANFIC WOULDN'T LET ME POST THE REAL LINKS. JUST PUT A WWW BEFORE FANFICTION AND THEN JUST DELETED ALL THE SPACES ****J ENJOY!**


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